


Wibbly-Wobbly

by Zetal (Rodinia)



Series: Causes and Effects [2]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Bullying, Friendship is Magic, M/M, Time Travel Consequences
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 16:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 32,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12369309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal
Summary: It had to be a dream, right?  That's what Viktor kept telling himself, but then one of the things Future Him had told him came true.  He's a little freaked out, but he decides to take at least some of Future Him's advice.





	1. Chapter 1

Yakov thought Viktor had lost his mind when he caught his skater looking at the results of Japan’s Junior Nationals. He’d checked, of course, but none of the skaters had really stood out to him as potential threats. “Why do you even care?”

Viktor looked up from his phone. “It’s going to sound crazy.”

Yakov crossed his arms. “I cannot imagine a rational explanation.”

Viktor sighed, but he started to explain. “I had a… thing… last month. I thought it was a dream, but now I’m not so sure.”

That was so very helpful. “Explain.”

“In my dream, or whatever it was, I was visited by a future version of myself. He told me some things about how he got to where he was – and how to change them.”

“You’re right. It sounds crazy. So?”

“So he told me about a skater I should look out for to mentor. A Japanese boy named Katsuki Yuuri, who I could meet at the NHK if I tried. He made a deal with a family friend – if he won Junior Nationals, she would take him to the NHK to watch me live. He’s a fan.” Viktor held out his phone. “Look who won Junior Nationals.”

Yakov took the phone, and his eyebrows shot up. “Interesting.”

“I know! I’d been thinking it was a dream, what else could it be? But I’d never heard of Katsuki Yuuri until then, why would I dream something I couldn’t possibly have known? I can’t accept it as coincidence that I got the name right.”

Yakov didn’t have an answer for that, so he skipped to another question, one he hoped Viktor had an answer for. “Why did he tell you about this?”

“Two reasons. One, if Yuuri can get his confidence up and not sabotage himself, he’ll be challenging me – and no one else did, for him. Five years of no challenge, he said.”

Yakov frowned, but he nodded. “I see that coming. When a couple of the current guys retire, I haven’t seen anyone in Juniors showing the fire they need to catch you, and no one in Seniors will keep up with you.”

Viktor scowled a little. “What about Chris?”

“I don’t think so." Viktor's scowl deepened, but Yakov wouldn't lie to his skater. "I know he’s your friend, but I can’t see him being a real challenger for you much longer.”

Viktor sighed again. “That’s what Future Me said, that he was good but never threatened me for gold. Yuuri did, eventually, and he didn’t say it but I think Yuri Plisetsky will. He said there was another competitor right after he quit, and the timeline fits for it to be him.”

Yuri Plisetsky, Yakov could see, but that was years in the future. There was so much that could happen between now and when Yuri made it to seniors. “What’s the other reason? You said there were two.”

Viktor glanced quickly at Yakov's face and then stared out at the ice. “He said Yuuri was his husband.”

“And he’s in Juniors?” It might not be as bad as it sounded, if his birthday was after July he could be nineteen, but somehow Yakov didn’t think so.

“He’s sixteen. Or seventeen. I’m a little confused on that point. I suppose I could check the JSF profile…”

Three or four years. Not terrible, at least if Viktor found him he was of age, but still… “And you married him?”

“A three or four year age difference really isn’t that much, and if I let things play out the way they did for him, it sounds like I’m not even going to meet him for several years yet. If I change the timeline, who knows if I’ll marry him? Maybe if I don’t become Future Me, Yuuri won’t be interested, or I won’t find Yuuri interesting.”

“Vitya, what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I’ll try to meet him in Japan and go from there. Maybe I will fall in love, maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll ignore his other advice and date Chris instead. Chris, I know I like, and he’s only a few months away from eighteen. I don't even know Yuuri at all.”

 

Meeting Yuuri at the NHK was surprisingly easy. He’d agreed to an autograph session, and Yuuri came with a poster to get signed and a Makkachin plushie clutched under one arm. Viktor took the poster with his press smile on, but when he looked up, the boring question of “What’s your name” died on his lips and his smile became much more genuine. He looked back at the poster and started writing.

_To Katsuki Yuuri – congratulations on your gold medal at Junior Nationals! I look forward to competing against you when you get up to seniors. – Viktor Nikiforov_

Yuuri gasped when he read it. “You know who I am?”

“I do! Can you stick around? I’d like to talk to you properly.”

Yuuri looked to the brown-haired woman with him, who shook her head regretfully. “Yuuri, you have a sponsor meeting to get to. You know you can’t skip that. When do you expect to be done here, Mr. Nikiforov?”

“Please, call me Viktor. About six, I think? They’re cutting the line off at five, and then it’s just getting through whoever’s left.”

“All right. I’ll get Yuuri back here around 5:45, and you can talk when you’re done here? Would that work?”

Viktor broke into his heart-shaped grin. “Yes, that would be lovely!” A chance to talk to Yuuri properly instead of around fans? That was even better than his original idea.

 

The rest of the autograph session went painfully slowly. Yakov showed up around 5:30. “How much longer do you think you’ll be here?”

Viktor looked at the line. It had been cut off and he’d worked his way through a good deal of what was left. “I should be done with autographs in another fifteen or twenty minutes, I think. Which is perfect because that’s when Yuuri’s going to be back!”

“Yuuri?”

“The Japanese skater I was hoping to meet?" Yakov's face cleared of its confusion, to be replaced with doubt. "His coach…”

“I’m not his coach." Yuuri and the woman he'd come with were back. "Hello, Yakov. It’s been a while.”

Yakov turned and paled. “Minako. This is quite the coincidence. I didn’t know you followed skating.”

“I didn’t, until my best friend’s son turned out to be a skater.” Minako put a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder.

Viktor finished dealing with the fan in front of him. “Hello, Yuuri! I’m glad you came back.”

Yuuri looked around for someone else for Viktor to be talking to. There wasn't anyone, and Yuuri was kind of cute when he got embarrassed. “Really?”

“Really. I’ve enjoyed watching you.”

Yuuri blinked at him, taking quite a while before coming up with a response. “Why?”

“Your skating is beautiful! You could use some help with your jumps, but other than that, I’m quite impressed.”

Yuuri didn’t know what to say to that, even after some wait time, so Viktor turned back to finish off the line for autographs. Yuuri and Minako talked with Yakov while Viktor was talking to fans.

Once the last fan was gone, Yakov put a hand on Viktor’s shoulder. “Gather your things. We’re going to dinner.”

“But I haven’t had a chance to talk to Yuuri yet!” Viktor pouted and crossed his arms. “I asked him to come so I could talk to him, it would just be rude to leave before we get the chance.”

Minako giggled. “Yuuri and I are coming with you. I’m incredibly curious about your interest in my young friend.”


	2. Chapter 2

Viktor had a lot of trouble keeping quiet on the drive to dinner. He had a million questions for Yuuri and Minako. He wanted to know more about this boy who, apparently, he had loved in another future. He also didn’t want to scare him off, and Yuuri kept looking at the door like he wanted to bolt.

Minako started the interrogation as soon as they got to the restaurant. “How did you hear about Yuuri? I have a hard time believing you had a burning interest in Japan’s junior skaters that aren’t even in the Junior Grand Prix.”

“I was bored, saw that Junior Nationals was happening, and watched the livestream.” Yakov gave Viktor a sharp look, but Viktor wasn’t going to go with the I visited myself from the future to tell me about this amazing skater and even better human being explanation. Not yet. He wanted to get to know Yuuri, not send his young fan and future rival running for the hills and telling everyone how crazy Viktor Nikiforov is. “It was the free skate, and I was so captivated by Yuuri’s dancing that I got on YouTube and watched everything I could find. Yakov thought I’d lost my mind when he saw how much attention I was paying to you, his scouting on you focused too much on the jumps you struggle with and not enough on the step sequences and dance ability that you’re amazing with, but I couldn’t stop.”

Minako looked over at Yakov. “And this has nothing to do with anything else.”

Yakov shook his head. “If Lilia knew anything about Yuuri, she didn’t tell me.”

“Why would Lilia know anything about Yuuri? He’s a skater, not a dancer,” Viktor said.

Yuuri cleared his throat. “Um, actually, I’m kind of both. I started off in ballet and only moved over to skating seriously a few years ago, and I’m still training in ballet because I use a lot of that training in my choreography. Minako is my ballet instructor, and she’s the one who goes with me to competitions and stuff. She and my mother grew up together.”

“And I trained under Madame Lilia for a while, and we keep in touch. I’ve told Lilia a lot about you, Yuuri. I’ve never given her your name, but she knows enough about me that if she – or Yakov – had reason to go looking, they could have found you.”

“Wow! That’s amazing!” Viktor clapped his hands together. “Anyway, Yuuri, I know this is going to sound arrogant and boastful, but Yakov thinks I’m going to run out of challenge in the next few years. Aside from the jumps, I think you could do it, keep me from having too easy a time getting on top of the podium. I know you can do all the triples, so do you know why you have such a hard time landing your jumps?”

“You’re not more worried about my lack of a quad?”

“You’re still in Juniors, and depending on why you struggle so much with the triples, it may be a good idea for you to wait on a quad even after coming up to seniors. Solve the bigger problem first!”

Yuuri blushed. “I know I can land them all, but I… I guess… I don’t really have a lot of confidence in myself. Minako always tells me that I’m better than I think I am, but I have trouble believing it. I tend to dwell on my mistakes.”

Viktor looked to Yakov. That was one that, despite Future Him’s words, he had no idea how to fix. Yakov just looked back at him. He had to figure it out. “Then that is definitely a good reason to put off working on quads. Although…” Viktor put a finger to his lips. “Maybe if you could learn a quad to the point where you’re landing it at least some of the time, it would help put the triples in a bit of perspective for you? Even a quad toe loop, it’s a huge jump from the triple Lutz. Normally I’d say axel but from what I saw that’s your most consistent jump.”

Yuuri jumped a little in his seat. “It is. You watched me closely enough to know that?”

“I told you, I love watching your skating, and there’s not much out there but I watched everything I could find, going back to novices. I usually have to watch a program at least twice before I can start analyzing it, because I get caught up in the dance.”

“Have you ever considered finding a different coach? No offense to whoever's coaching you now, but you could do better,” Yakov said.

Minako raised her eyebrows. “You don’t think I’ve been telling him that if he really wants to meet Viktor on the ice someday, he’ll need better coaching than what we have in Hasetsu?”

Viktor lit up. “Meet me on the ice?”

Yuuri glared daggers at Minako. “I, um, yeah, that’s why I chose skating over ballet, because I wanted to compete against you.”

“You know, a lot of people say they want to compete against me, but this is the first time I’ve heard anyone tell me they became a competitive skater with that as their goal.” Viktor was starting to understand why Future Him had married this kid. Not that he was a kid by then. “You really do need a top-tier coach if you want to make it to be a top-tier skater. Yakov, do you have any recommendations?”

“Actually, yes, I do.” Yakov fixed Viktor with a stare. “Not me. For one thing, I don’t think he could handle the craziness at our rink, and for another, he’ll never get his confidence up if he’s training with you as a rinkmate.” Viktor pouted, but Yakov was probably right. Maybe someday they could be rinkmates. He couldn’t imagine Future Him not training at the same rink as his husband. “Yuuri, are you familiar with Celestino Cialdini?”

“Yes, of course. He’s taken quite a few skaters through the Grand Prix, and several to Finals.”

“I think he’d be a good fit for you. It would mean moving to America, but I really think he’d be good for you, and I know he’s accepting new skaters if they can meet his standards.” Yakov glanced over at Viktor. “Whatever you decide to do, take advantage of Viktor’s interest in you as long as it lasts.”

Viktor glared back at Yakov. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you yourself know how crazy all this sounds. Why are you surprised that the rest of us are skeptical?”

Viktor decided to ignore that, because the answer to that question was that he’d seen himself when he was talking about his life over the next five years. Which was something he’d hesitated to share with Yakov and there was no way he was sharing with Yuuri and Minako. “I’ll help you however I can, Yuuri. Skating will be boring if Yakov’s right and I’m not going to have a challenge!”


	3. Chapter 3

After dinner, Yakov promised to try to get Minako and Yuuri’s tickets upgraded so they were sitting as close to the ice as possible. Minako, after extracting a promise from Viktor to behave himself, let Yuuri go with him to sit on top of the hotel and look at the stars. “Minako, if Viktor wanted to fool around before the competition, he could find someone better than me.”

Viktor was about to disagree, but Minako did it for him. “Less likely to get him in trouble, anyway."

“Now that, I’ll agree with. Yuuri does have a point, I do have to skate tomorrow, so I’m really not looking for anything more than someone to hang out with tonight, Minako. You have my word, and I know that you know Lilia and all you’d have to do is tell her that I was mistreating someone you cared about to get me in as much trouble as you could want.”

Minako smiled. “Good. Go on, Yuuri, have fun.”

Up on the roof, Yuuri settled on the ground and looked up. “Hasetsu’s good for seeing the stars. The beach is close, and Vicchan and I sometimes go sit out there and look up.”

“Vicchan?”

Yuuri blushed. “My dog. He’s a poodle, like yours, only smaller.” Yuuri pulled up a photo on his phone and handed it to Viktor.

“Oh, how cute!” Yuuri wasn't kidding about Vicchan being like Makkachin. Slightly different shade of brown and smaller, but very similar.

“Yeah…” Yuuri took his phone back. “It’s hard to leave him behind for competitions. How do you do it with Makkachin?”

“With lots of drama and tears and promises to make it up to her with cuddles and walks when I get back. She’s the best friend I could ever have wished for, except that she can’t talk.” It occurred to him suddenly that Future Him hadn’t said anything about Makkachin. Probably just as well, surely he hadn’t changed so much as to not say something if Makkachin had died a preventable death while he was trying to change the future. “Do you have friends in Hasetsu?”

“Yeah… Yuuko’s been my best friend since she was six and I was four. Takeshi’s more recent, but he’s great.”

“Do you have feelings for Yuuko?” If Yuuri had married Viktor in that future, he probably didn't have to worry too much about competition, but better to know about it. Although now Viktor wondered why he was thinking of Yuuko as competition. He had no intention of dating Yuuri, at least not for another year or two.

“I, uh, it doesn’t matter, because she and Takeshi got married last month.”

Viktor's eyebrows shot up. “If she’s only two years older than you, isn’t that considered young to get married in Japan?”

“Yes. Their parents had to give consent and everything. But it was that or Yuuko would have to terminate her pregnancy, and they both wanted to keep the kids, so…” Yuuri shrugged. “They’re happy, and they’ve got a plan for how to make it as parents of triplets, and I hope everything works out for them. They both deserve good things.”

“What do you do when you’re not skating?”

“Schoolwork, most of the time. Ballet with Minako. Hanging out with Yuuko and Takeshi. Video games when I have the time, which isn’t nearly as often as I’d like. I like to hang out on the beach in summer. Um… that’s about it, really. Between dancing, skating, and school, I don’t really have a lot of time for hobbies.”

“I understand that. I don’t either, although in my case it’s all the publicity work I do instead of dancing. Lilia tried, when I was younger, but when I was about sixteen she finally gave up and said that she couldn’t do much more for me.”

Yuuri turned to face him, mouth hanging open. “I thought you said you thought you needed to pursue other means of expressing yourself, because you couldn’t keep going to the same old style every year.”

Viktor laughed. “Did I? Sometimes, Yuuri, I lie to the press. I have an image of myself that I put out there, and if how I really feel doesn’t fit with that, I lie. Or, as in this case, when I don’t want to throw someone I care about under the bus, I lie. It sounds a lot better both for me and for Lilia if I say I chose to pursue other avenues than to say she kicked me out, doesn’t it?”

Yuuri joined in the laughter. “So what do you do for fun? You’ve said you like to go clubbing, but I never really bought that answer, since there’s never any leaked photos of you actually at a club unless you’re at a competition or hanging out with Christophe… and there’s still what you do if you have some free time during the day. And if you’re willing to lie to keep up an image…”

“I like to read. When I’m at home, you’ve probably seen the magazine pictures of my apartment? I’ve read most of those books on my shelves, they’re not there to make it look good. When I travel, naturally I use an e-reader, much easier to pack!” Viktor leaned back. “Clubbing is really only fun when I have someone to go with, and even then, really, only Chris.”

There was a moment's silence. “If I ask you something, will you give me a straight answer instead of the evasion you give the press?”

Yuuri didn't have to ask for Viktor to know what he wanted to hear about. “Chris and I are not dating and never have. We’ve kissed a few times and he blew me a couple times when he wanted to practice, but that’s it. After the second blowjob, I told Chris that either we were boyfriends or I wasn’t his practice dummy, and he’s still trying to decide what he wants. I like him, a lot, but someone whose opinion I’m coming to trust told me that dating Chris is a horrible idea that’s more likely to ruin even our friendship than to work out.”

“But you evade in the press to keep the image.”

“Exactly! Everyone loves to think of us as sluts, so it’s unthinkable for us to be best friends and not have slept together, but lying about this one feels wrong. So, we evade, and let people think what they want to think.” Viktor smiled over at Yuuri. “My reputation for one-night stands is also rather exaggerated. It can be fun, and I know Chris enjoys himself immensely with them, but honestly I’d much rather have a relationship.”

“I’ve never had either.”

“Not surprising. You’re what, sixteen?”

“Less than a week away from seventeen.”

That was that cleared up. Good. “No hurry. I’m sure they’ll be lining up eventually. Especially if you end up signing with Celestino and moving to America!”

Yuuri shook his head. “No, I… I don’t think so. I mean, I’m not… I’m nothing special, at all. I’m not hot or rich or famous or exciting.”

“Rich, I’ll take your word for. Famous, well, that’ll change soon! Hot… matter of opinion. I think you’re incredibly cute, which can work just as well as being model-hot if you play it right. But then, this is your confidence thing, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, probably. I wish I knew how to just believe in myself the way you believe in yourself, or other skaters believe in themselves.”

“I wish I knew how to teach you. I can talk you through some pointers on jumps, little things that might make a huge difference, but if your main problem is confidence…”

“Just knowing that _you_ of all people believe in me will probably help, honestly. I’ll do my very best to be what you think I can!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor talks to Chris and realizes why Old Viktor advised against dating him.

With Yuuri and Minako in the front row watching, Viktor skated better than he’d expected. He and Yakov had been hoping for second place here. He got gold. His plans for the next two weeks were suddenly changed – after his fourth-place finish in Canada, he’d bet against going to the Finals. He’d barely gotten his phone back from Yakov before it was ringing. Chris could barely contain his excitement. “Viktor! You did it!”

“I did! Next year, we go together, yes?” That was the only way this could be better, if he could share it with his best friend.

“Sounds good to me. By then, I’m hoping to have a quad Salchow ready for competition, so that’ll help get my base score up.”

“Glad to hear that! I want you on the podium with me at every competition we both go to.”

“That's the plan. There’s some strange rumors coming out of Japan…”

“Oh?” Undoubtedly Yuuri. Viktor wanted to know what they were saying.

“I was texting with Nicolas this morning. He said you cut an autograph session short to go to dinner with Yakov’s ex-girlfriend and her skater, and then you and the skater ditched the old guys for your own date.”

“Nicolas is ridiculous." And probably mad that Viktor had beaten him - he'd taken fourth in America, and finishing second here meant that he was left out of the Finals on a tiebreaker with Cao Bin. "That autograph session was cut off exactly when it was meant to, Minako and Yakov never dated, and I was not on a date with Yuuri. We were just hanging out.”

“But you did go to dinner with another skater and your coaches, and then take off to hang out with just the skater?”

“Yes.” Close enough, anyway.

“Who’s this skater?”

“His name’s Katsuki Yuuri and he’s a Japanese junior skater who shows real promise, if he could just get his jumps consistent.”

“He’s still in juniors and you’re this interested in him?”

Viktor gave his phone an odd look. Chris couldn’t see it, but Viktor did it anyway. “Chris, what’s wrong?”

“Huh?”

“There are three spots on the podium, and Yuuri won’t be at Europeans anyway. You, me, and him ruling the podium in the Grand Prix and at Worlds? That will be fun!” If Yakov and Old Him were right, it would mean a lot of bronzes for Chris, but maybe having Yuuri too would help elevate Chris that last bit.

“I know Yuuri from my time in juniors. He’s a very sweet boy and incredibly shy. How did you get through his shell so quickly?”

Viktor made a mental note to send Minako a fruit basket. Viktor had chalked Yuuri's hesitance up to being a fan meeting his idol, but if Yuuri was shy in the first place, he'd probably have never showed back up after getting the autograph and having to leave to meet the sponsor. “He’s a fan and came to get an autograph, and his ballet teacher wouldn’t let him be shy. That’s who Minako is, and she’s a friend of Yakov’s ex-wife. Why?”

“Viktor, do you really not know what this looks like?”

“To those who are inclined to see things that way, it looks like me pursuing a younger impressionable skater for nefarious purposes. I know. I hope that what people will actually see is him getting better and the two of us becoming friends.” Viktor had never let what people said about him stop him from something he really wanted before, why start now?

“So you’re not looking to date him?”

“Not now. If I did, and we broke up later, all the improvement in his skating would likely disappear and he’d end up worse off than ever.” Not that Viktor was worried about a breakup. Old Him had married Yuuri, after all. He just didn’t want to explain that to Chris. However, there was something that had Viktor curious. “Are you jealous of the thought I might date him at some point? You’ve never been jealous of any of the guys or girls I’ve been with before.”

“I could never see you marrying any of the guys or girls you’ve been with before. Yuuri… that one might work for you. I don’t know. Like I said, he’s kind of shy, so I don’t know him all that well, but from what I do know he’s exactly what you like.”

“Even though he’s a fan? You know how weird fans get when they get to know the real me and I don’t measure up because they expected me to be Viktor Nikiforov all the time.” Right now, that was Viktor's biggest fear, that Yuuri would be disappointed when he got behind the mask.

“You are Viktor Nikiforov all the time.”

“No, sometimes I’m Vitya. I like being Vitya. Fans don’t like Vitya. On very rare occasions I have to be Viktor Fyodorovich. That one I hate being as much as the fans hate me being that, but I have to.” Court appearances, dealing with the government, very annoying.

“I’m a fan. I like Vitya. Yuuri will too, if you give him a chance.”

“ _You_ are a friend. That doesn’t count.”

“Isn’t that what you’re trying to make Yuuri? I was your fan first, like him.”

“That’s true! I hadn’t thought of that." Viktor felt so much better, realizing that. If Chris could make that transition so well, Yuuri could, too. "I’m still confused, though, why are you jealous? Last I heard, you weren’t looking for any kind of commitment or long-term relationship from me. Or at all.”

Chris sighed. “I don’t, not now, I’m too young to tie myself to one person. I just always thought that when the time came that I did want to settle down and have that commitment in my life, it would be with you. I thought you were like me.”

“No. I’m not. I want the stability of a boyfriend and husband. I need someone to love.” This would certainly explain why Old Him had said things with Chris went badly. Either Chris didn’t know that Viktor was looking for something permanent, or Viktor had pushed him into something he wasn’t ready for, and there was no way that would end well. Maybe Chris had thought he was ready to settle down and wasn’t? It didn't matter. “I’m glad we had this conversation. I’m not going to wait around for you, Chris, and it’s really not fair of you to resent me for trying to find what I’m looking for.”

“I know. I wasn’t going to say anything other than making sure your intentions were honorable, but I can’t help how I feel, and you did ask.”

“I did. That's true. Is this going to affect our friendship?”

“Well, if you do end up dating him, I can’t imagine he’ll be happy with the constant cheating rumors that would come out of you going clubbing with me if he’s not with us, so possibly?”

Viktor laughed. Leave it to Chris to be ridiculous. “That’s not what I meant, Chris.”

“I know. The jealousy shouldn’t be a problem. Guess this means I can stop thinking about what I want from you?”

“If you’re not ready to say we should date now, then yes. If you change your mind later, we’ll see where things stand then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look! An unicorn!
> 
> ...Okay, it hasn't been quite *that* long, but. Hi. This isn't abandoned and is now high on the list of priorities. <3


	5. Chapter 5

Between the NHK and the Grand Prix Finals, Viktor and Yuuri texted when they had the chance. It wasn’t often – Yakov was working Viktor hard, and Yuuri had a lot of makeup work to do for school – but it was enough to make Viktor and Yuuri more comfortable in their friendship. With Yuuri’s support behind him, Viktor went to the Grand Prix Finals excited, and that excitement propelled him to bronze. 

As the winner of Junior Nationals, Yuuri had been invited to skate in the Senior Nationals. Viktor wanted to go watch, but with his own Nationals to skate in, he couldn’t. He could at least text Yuuri messages of good luck and encouragement, and check for performance uploads and standings.

He was convinced there was a mistake after the short program. Yuuri was far too low. When he watched the performance, though, he couldn’t argue with the score. Only one fall, but a serious struggle on another jump, and an overall hesitance that Viktor couldn’t understand. He called Yuuri.

“Viktor? Hi! Aren't you supposed to be getting ready to skate?"

“Hello, Yuuri! I'm in my downtime between morning practice and the actual competition. I watched your skate.”

“Oh no. I… I’m sorry. I messed that one up badly.”

“You did. I know you can do that routine so much better. Confidence issue?”

“Yeah. I… I’m a junior, skating in a senior competition, and the higher level of the competitors really got to me. And then I… I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“You didn’t.”

“But I skated terribly!”

“I wouldn’t say terribly, but I know you can do better.”

“So you are disappointed!”

“Yes, but not by you. Bad days happen, and with me watching and you being in your first – is this your first, or have you been to senior competitions before?”

“This is my first.”

“First senior competition? I should have realized that today would be a bad day for you. Even I got nervous my first time in a senior competition! Of course you would. You’ll do better in the free skate, I’m sure of it.”

“What if I do worse?”

“Then I’ll have to put a lot of thought into ways to help you build your confidence. I really don’t know what I’m doing there, but I’m willing to try!”

 

For the free skate, Viktor skipped checking the scores and went straight to the performance. He could see the change in Yuuri’s face after he fell on his opening jump, a triple Lutz. Rather than his nerves getting worse, he got determined – and it showed in his skate. Viktor couldn’t understand the announcers but he could tell the surprise and excitement in their voices. The score was much better. Now Viktor did check the standings and he couldn’t stop the squeal.

“Yuuri! After your short program, getting tenth was amazing! I knew you would do much better today!”

“I didn’t think I would, and then that Lutz… it was stupid. I nearly flutzed it, and the hesitation is why I fell. I haven’t flutzed a jump in competition since I was twelve and I was not about to start!”

“Well, whatever your reason for it, you came out of that fall beautifully and the rest of your skate was beautiful. I knew you had it in you. Have you thought any more about coaching?”

“Not really, I wanted to get through this first. Then I’ve got some time off before Junior Worlds, so I’ll talk to my parents then. I’m not sure we’ll be able to afford it, that’s the big problem.”

“That’s what sponsorship is for. You should be able to get sponsors. I don’t know if I could help you there or not – I don’t want this to look like you riding my coattails any more than it has to if we’re going to be friends. I can give you recommendations, but anything more than that…”

“Of course, you’re getting enough questions about me. Mari – my sister – literally chased a reporter away with a broom when he suggested you were trying to eliminate your competition by building me up and then pushing me down.”

“Do you believe that’s a possibility? At all? Even just a little?”

“Sometimes, a little, because why else would you want me to do so well? But then I remember the way you talked about not having competition soon, and I believe you. You and Chris are close friends, and you two have helped each other. If you’re trying to sabotage him, you’re doing a great job of keeping him your friend while you set it up, and…”

“I’m not trying to sabotage Chris. I want you and him and me to rule the podium, once you get up there with us.”

“I believe that. I believe you. And, you know. If I do sometimes have those anxiety doubts about the sincerity of your friendship – which I do with Yuuko and Takeshi, too, there are times I can’t stop my brain from telling me they only stay friends with me out of pity or inertia – at least the only reason I can think of why you’d fake it is because you really believe I’m that good? So either you’re my friend and you’ll help me reach my potential, or my potential is so high you can’t let me get there.”

“That’s good! I’d rather you didn’t have the doubts, but if you doubt Yuuko and Takeshi, then I can certainly understand you doubting me sometimes. I’ll just have to keep proving that I mean it.”

 

In his own Nationals, Viktor went out and did beautifully. Not as well as he had at the NHK or Grand Prix Finals, but well enough for a gold medal. Reporters swarmed him, looking for a statement. “Your first Grand Prix qualifier, you looked good, but not like you did in your second qualifier, the Finals, and now here. Can you tell us what changed?”

“I’ve had a couple people tell me that they think I can be the best skater figure skating has, and it’s inspired me to work harder and to try for more. Look for something very special at the Olympics, since I assume Russia will send me!” Some people might call that arrogant, but Viktor had a Grand Prix Finals bronze proving he could handle pressure and high-level competition, Olympic experience from Turin, and the national title daring Russia to send anyone else over him. He couldn’t imagine not being chosen. In fact, he was already scheming a way to get Yuuri out to watch without being too obvious.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emailed heart-to-heart!

Between the six-hour time difference and the Olympic training and publicity obligations, Viktor barely got to speak to Yuuri before the Olympics. They wrote emails back and forth, though. At first, Viktor just wrote about his day and his rinkmates and of course kept Yuuri in the loop of everything Makkachin was doing. Yuuri wrote back talking about school and Vicchan and his friends in Hasetsu.

Then one night, shortly after Europeans, Viktor had a terrible day. Nothing went right in training. The commercial he’d been asked to shoot ran so long that even without stopping to get dinner he was late for a party he was supposed to attend, held by one of his sponsors to show off their athletes. And then, when he finally got home, he discovered that Makkachin had somehow gotten out of the apartment and wasn’t there to greet him. She hadn’t gone too far, but still, once Viktor had found her and brought her home all he could do was hug her and cry.

After explaining his day to Yuuri, Viktor poured his heart out.

_Makkachin and Chris are my only real friends, although I hope I can count you among them as well, now. This life can get so lonely. When I was fourteen, Lilia told me I’d have to sell myself completely to the ice and to Russia, body and soul, and I did it without question. I’m glad I did, but I’m not so sure I want to stay on this path. Sometimes I envy you. You have friends, you have a life off the ice, you have your family. Is it selfish of me, asking you to consider leaving that so that you can get the coaching you need to become a true challenger for me?_

_I wish I could see you at the Olympics. I know why you weren’t chosen and I can’t blame the JSF for it, but this one is selfish, I wish you would be there. Final group or not making the free skate, I don’t care, it would just be better. Chris said the two of you know each other and he was very protective of you when we talked after the NHK. The three of us hanging out together would be so much fun._

_I know you’re barely started and you’re still trying to figure out everything you want to do on the ice, but do you ever think about what comes next? Any time I hear my older rinkmates talking about it, I realize I have no idea what comes next. Don’t you worry, I’m not planning on quitting any time soon, I have it on good authority that my best years are still ahead of me! It just scares me to think that the time will come eventually when I can’t keep doing this, because I can’t see myself doing anything else._

He hadn’t really meant to send it like that, at the very least he wanted to read through it and make sure he hadn’t substituted random Russian words for English or horribly misspelled something, but he was so used to hitting send after he finished writing that it was done before his brain could tell him he might want to sit on this one a while.

Oh well. Nothing to be done about it now, so he just went to bed. Then he got right back up, since Makkachin hadn’t hopped up to cuddle with him. That could only mean one thing – in all the drama and heartbreak and pouring his soul out to Yuuri, he’d forgotten to feed her. She deserved so much better than that.

 

There wasn’t a response from Yuuri when Viktor got out of practice the next day, which was unusual. That was usually when he got his emails from Yuuri. He didn’t worry, not until it was almost dinnertime and there still wasn’t anything. It was getting very late in Japan. Maybe Yuuri had a very busy day and hadn’t been able to sit down and type?

He still typed out his day for Yuuri. The only thing he left out was the time he spent wondering about Yuuri’s email. It was probably silly to be worried.

He finally got his long-awaited response the next day when he got home from a meeting with some government officials making sure he had everything he needed and that Yakov was taking appropriate care of him. He had a great time writing all about it for Yuuri, before he forgot any of the best parts, and then opened Yuuri’s response.

At first, it was typical – what Yuuri had been up to, things people had done that he thought Viktor might find interesting or funny.

_I don’t think you’re selfish for wanting me to go to America for training. It would be different if that wasn’t what I wanted, too, and you knew it, but I want to go. I am going in March to talk to that coach Yakov recommended – Celestino Cialdini. I can’t get good enough to achieve my goals, here, with the coaching and the facilities available._

_Why was Chris protective of me? I don’t understand. We’re not exactly friends, he’s a nice guy and I miss him now that he’s moved up to seniors, but we were never close or anything. What was he protecting me from? There’s no need to protect me from you. He’s your friend, he ought to know that._

_Is he really your only human friend? That sounds lonely. I still don’t understand why you picked me, there must be a million better choices, but I think I understand a little better why you reached out to someone. I hope I’ve been able to help you, at least a little, and this helps me feel like you’re not going to get bored and forget me._

_Is it too early to start thinking about Sochi? That’s the next Olympics. We haven’t even gotten through this Olympics yet, but I’m not going, so it doesn’t matter as much to me. Sochi is where I hope to make my dreams come true. Skating well, winning a medal for Japan… skating against you on the same level. For now they’re dreams, but in four years, I think maybe I can be good enough to meet you where you are._

_After I’m done skating, I don’t know what I’ll do. If I achieve my dreams, I might try to stick with it as a coach or choreographer, but if I fail, I don’t know that I’d want to be anywhere near the ice. It helps that I have a good fallback plan, I think. If I can’t figure out anything else I want to do, I can come home and do the only other thing I’ve ever done. I can help my parents and Mari run the onsen. Maybe Minako would take me on as an assistant at the studio._

_I’m sorry this is so late. It’s taken a long time to type, because so much of this is kind of embarrassing and I keep changing my mind about what to say and what not to say. Please don’t be mad at me. It didn’t help that Takeshi's little brother picked today to confess to his crush, and now Takeshi and Yuuko are both teasing me about it being my turn to confess. That’s another dream that’s probably going to have to wait a while._

Viktor’s stomach fluttered. Who was Yuuri supposed to confess to? He hadn’t ever mentioned anyone he was interested in, and it was just silly to think it was him. Although maybe, since they were just teasing Yuuri, they didn’t mean for any part of it to be taken seriously and didn’t have anyone in mind at all, or not someone they actually believed Yuuri might confess to.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor and Yuuri turn to each other over insecurities while Viktor prepares for the Olympics and Yuuri looks ahead to Detroit.

He’d tried his best, but between school and Yuuri being hesitant to accept Viktor paying for it, Viktor couldn’t get Yuuri out to the Olympics. Ah, well, next time… next time he wouldn’t even have to try. Yuuri would be skating in them. Assuming that between Viktor and Celestino, they could raise his confidence, anyway.

His correspondence with Yuuri had continued, and Viktor found that having someone he could share his insecurities with helped.

_I had to go for an interview for a Russian women’s magazine today. We spent half an hour talking about my hair. I’ve been thinking about cutting it, I’m getting a little too old for the androgynous look to work like it did when I was a teenager and it would be easier to take care of, but when I said that you’d have thought I announced I intended to eat Makkachin or something! Is my hair really that big a deal? I’m starting to get a little worried about going bald now. Dad didn’t, but I don’t know about my mom’s side of the family, mom was the only one I ever knew. If cutting my hair is such a big deal, would I have any fans left if I lost it?_

When he’d ranted to Chris over the phone, Christophe had laughed at him for his fears. “Don’t worry, darling, you’ll still be beautiful without hair, and if you’re not, that’s what wigs are for, you know!” Yuuri’s response had been much more along the lines of what Viktor needed to hear.

_Your hair is kind of iconic. A lot of us fans – yes, me included – like your long hair even now that you’ve moved away from the androgynous look overall because it just looks good on you. You’d probably look great with short hair, too, but we’re all so used to it long because you’ve had it that way since you first broke out into fame._

_If you lose fans over what you do with your hair, do you even want those fans anyway? I appreciate all the support I get, but there’s a difference between supporting me as a skater and thinking I somehow belong to them and they get to decide how I dress or what I do with my hair or if I decide to wear makeup somewhere other than the ice. That especially goes for something beyond your control like going bald. You’ll still be beautiful. Don’t worry about it. I hear stress is a trigger for losing your hair, so if you worry about it too much you might cause it!_

Viktor spent the next three days alternating between bursting into laughter any time he thought of it, which drew odd looks from his rinkmates, and wondering why Yuuri had retreated back into his shell a little. It wasn’t that Yuuri wasn’t emailing, it’s just that the emails had gone back to complaining about homework or talking about the trouble Vicchan had gotten into without any of the more personal thoughts. He didn’t push – whatever was wrong, pushing would only make Yuuri retreat further.

He didn’t hear from Yuuri at all the day before he left for Vancouver, and the long flight was boring. When he landed, there were two emails, and Viktor was not happy. He’d gotten the first one about two hours into the flight – which meant Yuuri would have sent it around 3 am his time. What was Yuuri doing up at that time? He was too curious not to open it right away.

_I need to get out of Hasetsu. Mom and Dad and I have talked and we’re very much hoping things work out when I go to visit Detroit next month, and that we can work out a deal with Celestino. Even before this, we knew I needed to go, but after this I’m not torn anymore. I need to get out of this town and away from my school. I only have one year left, but even that is too much._

_I have friends here, especially Yuuko and Takeshi, but there are some people who have always liked to pick on me. Mari says they’re jealous that I’m doing something they can’t and that I don’t have to dream about a world beyond Hasetsu and Fukuoka, I live there, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. It certainly doesn’t help with my confidence when even my hometown is trying to knock me down._

_Anyway, today at school, we had our end-of-year exams. After the last one for the day, this girl came up to me. I don’t really know her all that well, she’s in the grade below me, but she’s always seemed nice when I see her on sports days or around town. She confessed to me. I wasn’t interested, but I know how much courage it must take to do that, so I tried to be as nice as I could about it… and then I heard the laughter. This group of girls who have hated me since I started competing at the national level either bullied or bribed her into confessing as a joke._

_I don’t know how I’m going to go to school tomorrow. I have to, for exams, though. I can’t deal with the thought of dealing with those girls, though. I couldn’t tell Mari or Yuuko or Takeshi about this and now it’s keeping me awake. Why would anyone do that? During exams, no less? I’m just glad I wasn’t interested, I can’t imagine how bad this would be if I had liked her and responded positively only to find out it was a prank._

Viktor was seething as he clicked to the next email. How dare they? Those girls were awful, and Viktor wanted to hunt them down. The second email only made him feel worse.

_Subject: OPEN THIS ONE FIRST_

_I hope it’s not too late! Please ignore the other email, I was upset about something at school and whined about it. When I read it this morning I was so embarrassed at dumping all that on you. There’s not really anything you can do about it, and with any luck I’ll be leaving Hasetsu next month so it won’t have a chance to happen again, so please just delete that email and don’t read it._

What should he do? Pretend he never saw the first email? Tell Yuuri, in case he blurted something out later? Respond quickly now, even though he only had a few minutes to type, or wait until he had time to send a proper reply? What would be the best way to make Yuuri feel better?

He decided to go ahead and send a short reply right then.

_I don’t have long now, so I promise, you’ll get a second email later. I’d read your first email before I saw the second one. I know you’re embarrassed about it, but if pouring it out to me helped you feel better, then I’m happy to listen no matter how much it feels like whining later on. I hope your exams went well. Wish you were here. Next time!_


	8. Chapter 8

Viktor had always been very good at suffering the repetitive, pointless, or downright silly questions they asked him in interviews. Did anybody really expect him to say anything other than that yes, he believed he had a good chance at a medal? When they asked his thoughts on the competition, unless it was Chris, were they expecting to hear anything other than “Cao Bin is an excellent skater and I wish him the best of luck”? Did anyone really care what sort of underwear he preferred – that is, unless they were considering asking him to advertise their underwear, of course?

Today, every boring question was one more that kept him from being able to get out of there and sit down and type a proper reply to Yuuri. Luckily he was a good actor, and he could keep the plastic smile in place and the tone light and joking, but Yakov was starting to look at him funny. When the interviews were finally over, Yakov caught his arm. “Are you all right? Should I have pulled you out and sent you to medical?”

“No, I feel fine, I’m just distracted. Things will be back to normal after I’ve dealt with this and gotten some sleep, I promise.”

Yakov looked hard at him, but nodded. “Go on. Make sure you eat properly before you go to bed. No repeats of Turin.”

Viktor smiled at the memory of the three plates of pasta and two bowls of gelato he’d devoured his first night in Turin – and the look on Yakov’s face when he found out about it. “Yes, Coach Yakov, but you really don’t have to worry. I’m saving the fast food pigout for after I’m done skating this time!”

 

Dinner secured, Viktor settled in to check his mail. Nothing from Yuuri – not a surprise, but Viktor had hoped. He was sharing a room with Chris, which would either be the best thing ever or a giant disaster. It would just depend on where Chris decided to take his hookups. Chris wasn’t there yet, though, so Viktor settled in to write a proper response to Yuuri.

_I hope you had a better day today! Skipping school probably wasn’t a choice, because of exams, so I hope things went well. When are you going to Detroit? Do you think there’s any chance you can come to Turin for Worlds? After all, Celestino will be coming, too, I would imagine. I know he’s got skaters competing._

_I don’t understand why people would do something to deliberately hurt another person like that. Mari’s probably right about the jealousy, but it seems weird. You don’t deserve to be treated like that, and if I can talk Yakov into letting me go to Hasetsu instead of straight home, I’m happy to explain that to her if you’ll point out who it was._

_It’s not the same, I know, but a lot of people think it’s okay to pretend to love me when what they really love is that I’m famous, or that I have money, or I’m attractive. When I was seventeen, there was one time I fell for it badly – a girl who’d seemed very sweet and interested in me turned out to be using me to make connections that would help her break into an acting career. I remember I talked about her a lot while we were dating, and the press was never satisfied with any of the answers I gave for why we broke up. I don’t even remember what answers I gave them, but I never told anyone but Yakov the truth. She cheated on me with a movie producer who was more useful to her ambitions, and didn’t care if I found out about it because she didn’t need me anymore. Since then, I’ve always been skeptical when people act interested in me. I can deal with the ones who are honest about it, who just want to hook up with a famous skater and be able to brag about it to their friends, or want me to help them meet people who can help their careers, but the ones who lie to me… no._

_Which of course doesn’t help me deal with the loneliness. It’s hard to make friends when you’re always looking for the hidden agenda. At least I have you and Chris – you’re both very honest about having been my fan first, but you both honestly care about me. I’m glad you have Yuuko and Takeshi and Mari to be there for you – even if you didn’t tell them why, I hope they noticed you were upset and tried to make you feel better._

After that, he told Yuuri about the flight and the interviews and the excitement of being back at the Olympics. He’d gotten so engrossed in writing that he didn’t notice Chris had arrived until he felt the thump of Chris plopping on the bed he was lying on. “What are you working on so hard?”

“Writing to Yuuri. How long have you been here?”

“About ten minutes. How’s he doing?”

“He’s looking into moving to America in the next couple months. I couldn’t find a way to make it work for him to come to the Olympics, but I’m hoping Worlds will work out better.”

Chris's eyebrows shot up. “Should I talk to someone else about being roommates at Worlds?”

“Not unless you’re awful here and I end up refusing to share a room with you ever again because you keep forgetting the sock!” Viktor hit send and dropped his phone. “Don’t forget I have team skating, too, so I need to be rested those days.”

“I know. I’ll behave when you have to skate the next day, I promise. You know, I still don’t get why you’re so fascinated by Yuuri.” Chris held up his hands. “This isn’t jealousy or me doubting you! This is just trying to understand. I like Yuuri, he’s a good kid, but there are a lot of skaters out there just as good as he is who are good kids.”

“There really aren’t. Or at least, if they are as good as him now, I don’t think that will last more than a year or two. By Sochi, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Yuuri being talked about as a medal favorite. Anyway, that’s not the point! The point is that Yuuri’s skating may have been what first caught my eye, but getting to know him has only made me even more interested in him.”

“So you are interested in him?”

“That’s not what I meant. I like him, he’s a good friend, he’s someone I can talk to and who talks to me about things other than skating and skaters and did you get the question about underwear in your interviews?”

Chris stared for a minute and then burst into laughter. “They were quite scandalized when I said that I preferred to do without! But come on, what did they expect? It’s me!”

“Anyway, I have you for that too, but two friends is better than one, don’t you think? If I can get him to Worlds, will you take some time off from flirting to hang out with us?”

“Are you kidding? Front row seat to Viktor being happy for real instead of always masking something? You know I see through that, right?”

“Yeah. I know. It’s one reason I love you so much. You and Yakov are the only people I can’t bullshit all the time.”

“Only because you and Lilia don’t see much of each other since you quit ballet,” Chris teased.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olympics, controversy, and Viktor protests a lot.

For the first few days of the Olympics, Viktor and Yuuri’s communication was quiet. Yuuri never mentioned anything about the girl, or Viktor’s attempts to sympathize, or anything much but school and skating; Viktor didn’t say much other than how his skating went, because at least for now, he was focused on the competition. Viktor did talk about some technical things, jumps he’d felt had gone really well that he thought Yuuri might be able to learn from, or the mistakes he’d made. Fun could wait for afterward.

After the short program, Viktor was in first, with an American and a Japanese skater both within a point of him. It was hardly a comfortable lead, and a lot of people including Yakov and Viktor thought it should be considerably more, but Viktor was determined to hold onto it. He had a day to wait in between the short program and the free skate, which he spent hanging out with Chris – for most of it, anyway. Chris took off with a Korean skier for a while, to Viktor’s amusement. What to do with himself for the next hour or so? After he was finished skating, then he might think about finding someone to hook up with, but he didn’t want to do anything while he still had to skate. Chris didn’t care as much – he was in seventh and all he wanted was to finish in the top ten – but Viktor wasn’t going to give up any kind of advantage he could get.

Chris just shook his head when he found Viktor back in their room. “Should have known. I’ve been looking for you for an hour!”

“You could have just called me and asked, you know,” Viktor said. He picked up his phone to doublecheck that it still had charge. “Why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want to interrupt you if you were _busy_ ,” Chris said with a wink. “So how is Yuuri anyway?”

“Huh?” The innuendo was obvious, but where did Yuuri come into things?

“You two email almost every day, I figured that’s what you were doing. Either reading his latest or sending one.”

“For two hours?”

“Hey, if I were getting love letters, I’d probably reread them every once in a while, I’m not going to judge you.”

“They’re not love letters!” Viktor stuck out his tongue at Chris. “You are ridiculous. He’s my friend.”

“So if he were here, you wouldn’t be trying to hit that?”

“No. I wouldn’t. Quit being weird.” Sure, in some future that was never going to happen now, Yuuri might have been his husband, but here and now? It wasn't like that.

“I’m not the one who gets heart eyes talking about my _friend_ I’ve only met once and am considering visiting between the Olympics and Worlds in spite of the horrible fight it would cause with my coach.”

“I do not get heart eyes when I talk about Yuuri!”

“Yes, you do. It’s cute, Viktor, don’t act like it’s some kind of insult to be told that. Heart eyes, you do the heart smile…”

Viktor shook his head and threw his pillow at Chris. “Just stop talking. Now it’s going to be weird when I’m trying to write to Yuuri!”

 

The next time Viktor heard from Yuuri was after the free skate. Viktor ended up in second, losing to the American. Yakov kept him in meetings while they tried to decide what to do about it. Neither Viktor nor Yakov thought that filing a protest would change anything, but they did want this looked into. Viktor wasn’t the only one who was unsatisfied with the results – a lot of the other skaters offered support for the position that winning without a quad should be impossible. It had been something they were talking about for several years. Yuuri was livid.

_Maybe it’s because I’m in Hasetsu and haven’t been around world-class coaches and other skaters, but it sure seemed to me like your short program was underscored. A lot. Your free skate, maybe a little underscored, but for you to be so low on your performance scores on the short program was criminal. I know there’s nothing to be done about it, but I can’t believe they stole your gold medal. He didn’t even do one quad, and you did two!_

That was the same thing Chris had said, among others, including Yakov – and the position of “you shouldn’t win unless you do a quad” was one the gold medalist had taken, too, right up until a few months ago. Viktor didn’t blame him for choosing not to do a quad, considering the stress fracture he'd been skating with, but he did think it rather silly that he’d done such an about-face on the importance of them. No, Viktor wasn’t happy with the results, but he also wasn’t horribly upset. They were what they were, and whining wouldn't change them.

_While I think I deserved the gold, I’m not going to be a bad sport about it and protest the results. We’re not going to file any kind of inquiry against the judges. We’re questioning the scoring system and suggesting that they revisit the point values for quads. My turn to look to Sochi to fulfill a dream, I suppose!_

_Now I get to hang around here and have some fun, unless the press decides they need to make a big deal out of this and I can’t get away from it. I’ll do whatever Yakov says is best, because I’m not the only one shocked and disappointed that not pushing the envelope was rewarded, but I just want to put this behind me and look ahead to Worlds. A young rinkmate said that I should skate the gold medal winning program at World’s just to prove a point, but that seems spiteful. I don’t want to be known as a sore loser._

_The worst thing about this is that Yakov says that the best way to make my point about being the best skater is to show up to Worlds and destroy some world records, which means he wants me practicing intensely for the next few weeks, which means he’s not letting me come to Hasetsu. After Worlds, he promises I can go, but not before. Be sure to let me know if I should be going to Hasetsu or Detroit!_

Yuuri’s response was immediate, and somewhat surprising. He apparently thought Viktor had been joking about going out to Hasetsu. Chris found that funny. “Give him my email, tell him I want to talk to him too. I want to find out just how he’s this clueless about how devoted you are to him!”

“Chris, I’m not giving him your email if you’re going to keep making innuendos about this. We. Are. Friends.”

“When you go to Detroit – or Hasetsu, or wherever – you should take Makkachin. I bet Yuuri would love her.”

"I know he would. He already does. He has a poodle, too! One reason I wanted to go to Hasetsu - he may not bring his dog with him to Detroit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The controversy is real: Evan Lysacek won gold in the 2010 Olympics without doing a quad, while Evgeni Plushenko did a quad toe-triple toe combo in both the short program and the free skate. It resulted in a retooling of requirements and point values to put more emphasis on quads.
> 
> Those on Plushenko's side (or the side of emphasizing the quad in general) argued that the Olympics was all about pushing limits and showcasing what the sport was capable of, and Lysacek's program didn't. Technically, it was a throwback to the 80s, rather than trying to push the sport forward. This is responsible for the quadsplosion of the 2010s, and now there's a lot of handwringing over whether things have gone too far (see: Nathan Chen).
> 
> There were a lot of political arguments as well, including a widespread belief that Plushenko's short program was badly underscored, but this was basically bringing the argument over quads vs. artistry to a head.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to continued prodding from Chris, Viktor finally talks about the future. Sort of. Not all of it.

Chris’s attitude bothered Viktor all night, far more than the results of the scoring. When he woke up in the morning, his phone wasn’t where he’d put it the night before. Normally, he’d chalk it up to being an airhead and just assume he put it in the wrong place, but… right now, he was paranoid. He checked to see if there was anything new from Yuuri. There wasn’t, but there was also no way of knowing that Chris hadn’t stolen the email anyway. Viktor decided a little preventative action was in order.

_You may be getting an email from Chris. It probably is really Chris. He said he wanted to talk to you too but he was being weird about us being friends. I don’t know how well you know Chris, but if you know him, you can probably guess what I mean. I think he may have gone into my phone to get your email. So if you hear from him, that’s how he got it. If he’s making things weird, just ignore him._

With that done, he went about his day, sticking to “yes, I’m disappointed, but we should question the scoring system for not doing enough to reward taking risks rather than the judges” talking points when they wanted to talk about the controversy. He saw a lot of the same comments in interview clips Yakov showed him, other skaters who had decided to follow Viktor’s lead. Even the gold medalist said that he thought the scoring could use some tweaking, though he encouraged the ISU not to go too far and start rewarding people for failure rather than for strong execution of a less-difficult element. “When people watch skating, they expect to see the skaters who do the best be the winner. In their mind, a clean triple Lutz is better than a quad toe loop that the skater fell on.”

At first, Yuuri's answer was comforting.

_Thanks for explaining. I don’t really know Chris very well, but I do remember him as always shipping everything. He was actually fine in the email he sent, telling me that he stole my address from your phone, and since it’s Chris I just assumed all the talk of me stealing your heart or whatever was just him being him. I’m not silly enough to think you’d actually mean it that way._

On further reflection, this was no good either. No, Viktor didn’t mean it that way, but he didn’t want Yuuri to feel like it was impossible for Viktor to mean it that way! What should he do? Letting it go for now would be easiest – he could still help Yuuri develop confidence in himself without the confusing contradiction of getting into Chris’s innuendo.

 

The rest of the time there, Viktor kept busy with exploring Vancouver, hanging out with Chris, carefully avoiding Chris when he was in cruising-for-a-hookup mode, and talking to Yuuri. The night before the gala, Chris came to find him, and he found Viktor laughing at a story Yuuri had told about Vicchan chasing a butterfly and ending up accidentally doing a backflip. “You know, there’s a lot of talk about you.”

“There always is. What are they saying?”

“They’re wondering why someone who sells himself as such a playboy is blowing off any invitations to hook up. Before you were finished competing, fine, of course you had to focus if you were going for the gold, but this past week, why aren’t you putting yourself out there? A couple people have been bringing up the Japanese boy you went on a date with back at the NHK and wondering if you’re hiding an underage boyfriend.”

Viktor glared. “By a couple people you’d better not mean you. If you’re going to be friends with Yuuri, you should actually _be_ his friend and not go dragging him into tabloid gossip.”

“No, not me, you’d kill me. I’m not going to do anything that stupid. I heard it in whispers – couldn’t figure out who they were coming from – and Tor, that really cute Norwegian biathlete, asked me about it because he’s been trying to hook up with you over a week now.”

“Tor? Who’s he?”

Chris took Viktor’s shoulders and shook him. “Tor is the really cute Norwegian biathlete I pointed out when we watched the opening ceremonies coverage because I was going to be trying to hook up with him?”

Viktor shook his head. He had no idea who Chris was talking about. He vaguely remembered Chris pointing to a few people in the Opening Ceremonies and talking about hookup potential, but the only one who stood out was a Japanese speed skater, who was probably not secretly also named Tor and competing for Norway. “Sorry. I don’t remember.”

“Who are you? Last year, I heard so much about how much you were looking forward to the Olympics because it was such a great place to meet people to hook up with. I know that’s not your long-term plan and that what you really want is a long-term committed relationship, but until you met Yuuri, you’d always had fun with hooking up while you waited for your prince to come.”

“It’s not because of Yuuri. It’s…” Viktor put down his phone and sat up straight, staring hard at Christophe. He didn’t dare tell the full craziness, but what if he only told part? Would Chris believe him or would this just make things worse? “A few months ago, I had a glimpse of myself in the future. Probably just a dream, but it left a lasting impact on me, because I didn’t want to end up becoming the guy I saw. Oh, sure, he was happy and had a husband and a very fulfilling career, but he’d gone through years of loneliness and pain to get there, and you were no help because I’d tried to date you and things went very badly and for the worst of those years we weren’t even friends.”

Christophe snorted. “Was his husband Yuuri, by any chance?”

“I didn’t even know Yuuri at the time, why would I dream of him being my husband?" Okay, so he was lying to Chris, but this was the part that would sound craziest. A dream of the future with things he could know, at least, could be blown off as a vivid dream. "Anyway, it spooked me, because I couldn’t imagine what would be worth going through all that pain to get. So I’m changing some things about myself – like that talk we had about how we wanted such different things that dating was a terrible idea. And… I’m just not interested in hooking up anymore. With anyone. I have a rep to maintain so I’m still going to be flirty and all in the press, but that’s it. A lover would be nice, but I’m not going to settle anymore.”

“And if Yuuri’s not that lover you’re waiting for, then how does he fit in with this?”

“I’m helping Yuuri find his confidence because I think he’ll be real competition for me and you if he can find that belief in himself. In that dream… we needed it.”

“How so?”

“I went unchallenged and you never quite found the last piece to be the challenger I needed.”

As Viktor had expected, Chris did not take that well, but at least he didn’t take it too hard. “So you really aren’t looking at Yuuri as a potential boyfriend.”

“Not now. Not while he’s still finding his feet and his confidence to reach for the stars without sabotaging himself. Once he’s found that, I don’t know. Maybe. But just like I’m not willing to sit around waiting for you to be ready to settle down and be what I want, I’m not going to sit around waiting for Yuuri to be in a good place. Like you, he’s my friend, and if that’s all we ever are, I am perfectly happy with that.”

“All right. I’ll back off on the teasing, I know he knows it’s just me being me but still. And when I hear rumors, I’ll do what I can to quash them. But Viktor? Yuuri’s a sweetheart, and I think he’s perfect for you.”


	11. Chapter 11

Yuuri became much happier once March came along. The chance of getting out of Hasetsu and away from his classmates had him excited. Thanks to the Olympics, Junior Worlds ended up being late, and as Japan’s junior champion, Yuuri got to go. Viktor could barely contain his excitement when, after the short program, Yuuri was in third.

_I’m so proud of you, Yuuri! I wish I could be there to watch, but perhaps it’s just as well I’m not. I know how much you hate letting people down, so if I were there, you’d probably have that extra pressure to make it worth the trip. Don’t worry about disappointing me, just focus on doing your best! I’d love to see you medal, but if you don’t, that’s okay._

Yuuri’s response was prompt.

_I’m kind of freaking out. Winning Junior Nationals was one thing, but Worlds? Knowing you’re watching, knowing Celestino Cialdini is watching – he said a little bird told him there was an amazing skater in Japan who wanted to come to America to train, so he came and found me here. I didn’t think about him being here! He didn’t come just to scout me, he has a girl skating in the ladies’, but still. He’s here and he’s watching me. I have to do well!_

Viktor spent the next couple hours trying to figure out how to help Yuuri. He couldn’t come up with anything that Yuuri didn’t already know. He briefly considered telling Yuuri that if he didn’t do well, Viktor would give up trying to help him because he didn’t know what he was doing, but he thought better of that immediately. Even with Chris’s help, Yuuri still wasn’t as secure in their friendship as Viktor would want for that kind of challenge.

When Yuuri took the ice, Viktor crossed his fingers and did his best to send good vibes to Yuuri. He looked nervous, but he pulled himself together. He messed up a little on a triple flip, but he kept from falling, and the rest of his program was clean. It probably wasn’t going to be enough to catch either of the people ahead of him, but it should be enough for a medal. Then one of the people ahead of him fell on a triple axel, which ended up dropping him below Yuuri. Another skater had a disaster of a free skate, and Viktor was very glad that Yuuri had already skated. The other person who had been ahead of Yuuri had to skate next, and he, too, fell on a triple axel, and had several other mistakes on his jumps. Only one skater stood between Yuuri and gold, and he had quite a bit of ground to make up from the short program. Too much, as it turned out. Yuuri had won.

_YUURI THAT WAS AMAZING I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU! YOU DID IT! I WISH I COULD BE THERE TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU!_

Yuuri’s response didn’t come until late that night, which made sense, interviews and all. When it finally did, Viktor couldn’t help the laughter.

_You said I hate letting people down, which is true, but sometimes when I want something bad enough, I can shut up my anxiety and skate up to my potential. Right before I went on the ice, I told myself that if I did well, I got the last word with my classmates who say I’ll never amount to anything and should give up skating. I think being a gold medalist at Junior Worlds will make that point, don’t you? If they’re going to hate me because they’re jealous of me, at least I’ve given them something worth being jealous of. It also means I’m less likely to actually have to go back to that school, because I’m more likely to move to America. Celestino was really impressed with me._

 

Yuuri was a junior world champion. Even better, now that he was done with school, he was off to Detroit to meet with Celestino. Viktor was confused by that. After all, Celestino had skaters at Worlds, so surely he would be there instead. What was the point of going to Detroit if Celestino wasn’t going to be there? Yuuri was cryptic, just telling Viktor not to worry about it and that he knew what he was doing.

Viktor was settling in his room and running over things to tell Yuuri about the flight to Turin when there was a pounding at the door. He opened it to find Chris. “Get your room key and your phone and come with me!”

Viktor hesitated. “Um… Chris, I haven’t had a chance to…”

“Forget it, just do it. Trust me!” Chris winked at him.

Viktor shook his head, but he did as Chris said. This was likely to be an adventure, and his email to Yuuri could wait until he could include this adventure, right? Or Chris just wanted to point out someone hot that he was planning on hooking up with, which wouldn’t take long.

When they got through the lobby, Viktor stopped short. That brown hair… “Minako?”

“Viktor! There you are!” Minako twirled. “I was just about to start looking for you. Wait here.” She pulled out her phone.

A couple minutes later, Yuuri came running up to him. “Surprise!”

“Yuuri!” Viktor hugged him with a huge smile. “Best surprise ever! I’m so glad to see you! What happened to Detroit?”

“Well, Celestino has to be here, so… he came to Hasetsu to talk to my parents after Junior Worlds. It’s official, we’re just waiting on the paperwork, and Mom and Dad figured that if I’m going to wait around, I can wait here as easily as I can in Hasetsu, and they can ship my stuff while I’m not there to need it and I won’t have as long to wait for it there. This is a reward for winning Junior Worlds.”

Chris grinned. “Still mad at me, Viktor? Minako sent me to get you.”

“Okay, no, I don’t have to be mad about not being able to write to Yuuri when he’s right here to talk to instead.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some jerk makes Yuuri cry. Then Viktor makes him cry again.

Hanging out with Chris and Yuuri at Worlds was every bit as fun as Viktor had expected. The first evening, there was a little bit of a hiccup, though. After dinner, Chris hugged them both. “See you boys tomorrow. I’m off to find some trouble.”

“Have fun and don’t do anything Josef will have to kill you for!” Viktor waved as Chris walked off laughing. Then, as they walked back to the hotel, he noticed Yuuri drawing in on himself. “Yuuri? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t you want to go with Chris? Have some trouble yourself?" Yuuri scuffed his foot. "I’ll be fine to get back to the hotel on my own, don’t worry about me.”

“Oh! No. If I’d wanted to go, I’d have made sure to set you up with a fake ID so you could come if you wanted to!”

“If you’d known I would be here. You didn’t.”

Viktor grinned. True, but not the whole truth. “Yuuri, I know people. I could’ve had a fake ID for you by now. If you decide you want to go with Chris, I’ll get you set up. It’s just that drinking and cruising for a hookup doesn’t seem like something you’d be interested in.”

“No, but you are. You should go. You don’t have to spend every second you’re not busy with skating with me.”

“I don’t have to, no. But I would honestly rather sit on the roof of the hotel watching the stars, or go to one of our rooms to watch a movie, or whatever else you want to do.”

“But…”

“I’m not the playboy or party boy I act like. I had fun with it, yes, but even before you knew me you knew that I wasn’t nearly as into going clubbing as I pretend to be, and I’ve recently decided to stop trying to force things or settling for low-hanging fruit when it’s not really what I even want. If you weren’t here, I might have gone with Chris because he’s my friend and it helps maintain my public image, but I also might have just gone back to my room and read for a while. So come on, let's go find something fun of our own!”

 

Whether Yuuri believed him fully or not, he let it drop, and things went smoothly and happily for the next couple of days. Then Viktor got back from lunch with a sponsor, and Yuuri wouldn’t answer texts or knocks at his door. Minako just shook her head when Viktor asked about him. “Haven’t seen him for a couple hours. He said he was gonna get some lunch with Chris, and I haven’t seen him since.”

That made no sense – Chris was at the same sponsor lunch Viktor was. On a hunch, Viktor headed up to the roof, where he found Yuuri curled up in a ball, rocking and talking to himself in Japanese. It was too quiet for Viktor to even begin to work out what he was saying. He slowly squatted in front of his friend. “Yuuri?”

Yuuri looked up, eyes wide. “Viktor? What are you doing up here? Shouldn’t you be at… oh my god, what time is it?”

“Lunch is over, I don’t have anything planned for the rest of the day, what’s wrong?”

“It’s… it’s nothing, really…”

Viktor reached out and brushed a hand over Yuuri’s cheek. “You’ve been crying. That’s not nothing, Yuuri. If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you to, but if there’s something I can to do help you feel better, please tell me how.”

“One of the other skaters yelled at me and blamed me for taking you off the market. Like I said, it’s stupid, and it’s nothing I haven’t heard before. It’s just not usually being yelled in my face.”

Viktor moved to where he could put an arm around Yuuri. “Yuuri, you didn’t take me off the market. I took myself off the market for reasons that have almost nothing to do with you. It’s just that people are looking for something or someone to blame, and I quit the game around the same time I met you. The only thing even remotely related to you is Chris, and honestly, that probably saved our friendship.”

“Huh?”

“You remember I told you that Chris and I had fooled around a bit and I gave Chris the ‘boyfriends or just friends not friends with benefits’ speech, and Chris was thinking about what he wanted?” Yuuri nodded. “Chris heard some badly distorted stuff about when I was in Japan for the NHK and called to ask me about it. It led to us talking about some things and realizing that what we’re looking for right now is too different. If we tried to date, one or both of us would end up so hurt that it might well end our friendship, too. So the only thing you had to do with that is that him being a little jealous of you triggered the conversation.”

“Why would he be jealous of me?”

Viktor grinned briefly. “He’d been told I cut an autograph session short to go to dinner with you and Minako and then we ditched the coaches to have our own date. I never cut autograph sessions short, so if I’d done that for you…”

“Oh. But he didn’t realize how ridiculous that was?”

Viktor turned to where he could meet Yuuri’s eyes. “No, he didn’t, because the only ridiculous part of it is me cutting an autograph session short. I like you a lot, and if circumstances were different, I think you’d make an awesome boyfriend. The timing’s bad for you, so I’m not going to pursue that at all, but if things line up in the future, I certainly wouldn’t mind a bit.” Yuuri just stared at him, mouth hanging open. “I’m not saying this just to make you feel better, and I’m not meaning it as pressure on you. If things never line up and all we ever are is friends, that’s good too. Just like with Chris, I’d rather have a good strong friendship that lasts forever than try to force something that’s not right.”

“What do you mean, the timing’s bad for me? Is it because I’m seventeen?”

“Well, there’s that, not that it matters in Russia at all or much in Japan, but more… for one thing, you’re looking at starting with a world-class coach and moving halfway across the world. The last thing you need is to add another huge change to your life right now, like a long-distance boyfriend.”

Yuuri chuckled softly. “Okay, yeah, I can see that.”

“And then, you’ve got a couple big wins now, and a decent showing at your senior Nationals, but you’re still working on finding your confidence. As much as I’m a believer in true love and happily ever after, I know that more relationships don’t end up that way than do. If we started dating now, before you’ve really got a solid foundation to fall back on, I don’t even want to think about what that would do to you. I won’t do that to you.”

“You know it’ll be just as bad to lose you as a friend, don’t you? When… no. _If_ you get bored and decide to move on.”

“Yes, but…” Viktor thought for a moment, trying to find a way to explain to Yuuri exactly what the younger man was to him. “I was just a child when my skating talent became obvious, and even before that, my family is extremely rich, which means there was going to a lot of public interest in me as the heir of the Nikiforov fortune. All my life, I’ve been raised to play a role, to be who other people want me to be. I know Yakov and Lilia and Chris care about me, but even they have always had this idea of who I was that I’ve felt I have to live up to. You’re different. You had an idea of who you thought I was based on my media image, but when you learned something about me that contradicted that, you accepted that. Any time I come to you for advice, you… like my hair. You helped me understand why it’s such a big deal to some people and why cutting it off would have a big impact. Then you told me to do what I thought was best and everyone else could either adapt or leave. You’ll tell me what you think, but you also encourage me to do what I want, or think I should. With you, for the first time in my life, it feels like I have someone who really does prefer me to be exactly who I am instead of trying to make me what they think I should be. You’ve probably had that all your life – like Minako. You told me she wanted you to be her protégé and follow her onto the stage, but when you chose skating, she took you to competitions and gave you advice and helped you become the Junior Champion of Japan. You don’t understand just how important this is to me. Call me selfish, but I’m not giving that up now that I’ve found it. Not without a fight.”

Dammit. Yuuri was crying again. That was the opposite of what Viktor had been hoping for. But Yuuri leaned in against him, using Viktor to hold himself up, so Viktor was very confused. “I – I’m sorry,” Yuuri said once he’d gotten to the point where he could talk. “I’ve wondered a lot why me. I’m still not sure I know why you chose me to reach out to when you wanted to make a new friend. In the back of my mind, I’ve been wondering how long it would take for you to get bored, because what was I giving you that you couldn’t get somewhere better? I think I understand now, and I’m sorry for doubting you.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaay strengthened friendship!

Yuuri didn’t act any differently when they were still together at Worlds, but when they went back home, Viktor noticed a huge difference.

_I don’t think it really hit me that I was leaving for America until I got back to Hasetsu and my room was packed up and shipped already. Now I’m torn. I’m going to miss Mom and Dad and Mari and Vicchan, and the inn, and the beach. So many things that I took for granted because they’ve always been there, and now that they’re not, I’m realizing just how much I love. On the other hand, I need to go. I have to get away from that school, and Celestino will be able to take me a lot farther than anyone in Hasetsu could have._

_After talking things over with Mom and Dad and Celestino and school people, we’ve decided that I’m going to do my final year of high school online, instead of going to an American school. Celestino wants me to enroll in some community college classes so I can meet people outside of the rink, and he thinks I’ll be better off doing that than trying to go to a high school, since everyone else at the community college will be meeting new people, too. I’m going to do it if I can afford it – since winning Junior Worlds I’ve been pulling in a lot more sponsorship money, so even with American college costs, it’s possible._

_I’m scared, though. I’m going to America now because I couldn’t make friends at my school where I grew up with all those kids. What if I can’t make friends in America? You and Yuuko and Takeshi and Chris are great, but I’d kind of like to have a friend on the same continent as me, you know? I know, this is probably just my anxiety projecting, you and the others wouldn’t be my friend if I weren’t worth being friends with, but I can’t just shut it up._

Before Worlds, Viktor would have expected a frantic email a few hours later apologizing. This time, nothing. Yuuri mentioned it in his next email, but not in a way that made it sound like he was embarrassed.

_Okay, I’m not worried about making friends in America anymore. Until I turn eighteen, I’m living with a host family here in America, and they’re hosting another skater for Celestino, too. He’s a lot younger than I am, he won’t be fourteen until the end of the month, but he is adorable and I love him already. His name is Phichit Chulanont, he’s just come here from Thailand, and he has a pet hamster. He’s going to American school starting in the fall, and I’m going to work with him on English between now and then. He speaks some, but not enough to be completely comfortable._

 

Yuuri adapted quickly to life in America, judging by his emails, which was a huge relief for Viktor. He couldn’t wait to meet Phichit. The only reason he hadn’t gone to Detroit already was that he was trying to coordinate a trip with Chris.

They finally managed it in May. With Celestino’s help, they were able to keep it a surprise until they got to Yuuri’s host family’s house. Then Yuuri came flying outside and launched himself into Viktor’s arms for a hug. “I can’t believe you’re here! This is awesome!”

“Hello, Yuuri! I told you I was going to come visit you this summer! I couldn’t get out to Hasetsu, but I’m sure I’ll get there sometime.”

Yuuri pulled back and hugged Chris, too. “Come on in, you guys have to meet Phichit, you are gonna love him. He’s the best.”

Phichit was a little shy when Yuuri came in with Viktor and Chris. Yuuri found it hilarious. “Come on, Phichit, they’re just people. They're skaters, and they're my friends. Someday, you’re gonna face them on the ice.”

“In a few years, yeah, but that’s Viktor Nikiforov and Christophe Giacometti, they’re two of the best ever!”

“Can I meet your hamster?” Chris asked.

Phichit squeaked, and then turned and ran off. “Come on, I’ll show you!”

 

That broke the ice nicely, and by the time they left to go get dinner, Phichit had gotten comfortable with Viktor and Yuuri. From then on, Phichit got included in plans when he could be. Viktor had a fake ID for Yuuri so they could go clubbing with Chris sometimes, but he made sure to take an evening that was just him and Yuuri.

“Phichit’s teasing me about my date,” Yuuri said when Viktor picked him up for dinner.

“Chris is teasing me." Viktor's grin faded as he looked at Yuuri. "Are you okay?”

“Yeah. That talk we had during Worlds really helped a lot. I’m almost grateful to the idiot who decided to yell at me.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask! Who was it?”

“Nicolas.”

Of course. Viktor should have guessed. “That figures. He’s the one who spread rumors to Chris during the NHK, you know.”

“Huh. Is he trying to help you out or knock you down?”

“I don’t know. I don’t care. He hurt you.”

Yuuri took Viktor's hand and gave it a squeeze. “But look how much good came out of that! You and Chris had a good chat, you and I had a good chat, and now both friendships are better for it.”

“There are other ways that conversation could have happened. I’d rather not ever see you crying again.”

Yuuri dropped Viktor's hand. “So next time, hide better?”

“What? No! Next time, call me so I can find you faster!” Viktor blinked as Yuuri started laughing. “You’re awful. That was mean!”

“Sorry, sorry. I knew what you meant, but come on, you set yourself up for it.”

Viktor started laughing, too. “Yes, yes, I did. But you have to admit, back in December, that is how you’d have taken it.”

“Yeah, but I’m stronger now. Speaking of which, Celestino thinks I should compete in seniors this year.”

“Really? That would be fun! Did he say why?”

“He says that even without a quad, my performance scores and spins and steps got me in the top ten in Japan – after that horrible short program, too. I told him what you said about learning a quad maybe being the best way for me to get comfortable with the triples. He’s started working with me on a quad toe loop, and I am noticing a difference when I practice my triples.”

“That’s great! I’m glad to hear I was useful.”

“Celestino thinks that maybe I’m the sort of skater who does best when I’ve got something to prove, so proving that last year wasn’t a fluke by doing well in seniors – not winning gold medals, but as the Junior Worlds champion I’m likely to get invited to Grand Prix qualifiers, and if I can go to Four Continents or Worlds, I should make the free skate there, at the least.”

“That’s true. Of course, if you stay in Juniors, you could be winning those gold medals.”

“But I’m expected to, now. When I get to the top of seniors, there’s no way to avoid having the pressure of medal expectations, but for now, I can. Celestino wants me to not be worried about placement, but scores, and for that, it’s easier if I’m in seniors.”

Viktor nodded. “In that case, I hope to see you at a qualifier!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, we don't know for sure how long Phichit's been skating for Celestino, but considering Otabek left home at thirteen, I don't think it's unreasonable for Phichit to be in Detroit already. And come on, it's Phichit, everything's better with him in it! <3


	14. Chapter 14

On Assignment Day, Viktor couldn’t settle down. He and Chris were on Skype with each other, waiting for the site to update. “Come on, this shouldn’t be taking so long… oh, hi Yuuri! What are you doing up?” Yuuri looked very tired, which made sense as it was very early in the morning in Detroit.

“Assignments are any minute now! I do this every year, and this year’s even more important.”

“Why get up so early if you don’t have to?” Chris asked.

“Technically, I haven’t been to bed yet, so I’m up late,” Yuuri said. “I watch for the announcement so I know where Viktor’s going to be, like any other self-respecting fanboy. And this year, I’m watching for you, too, and of course I’m hoping to get an assignment.”

“The only good excuse for you not getting one is if you hadn’t moved up. If nothing else, the NHK should pick you as a host pick,” Chris said. “Josef thinks you’ve got a shot at two.”

“That would be nice, but I’m not going to get my hopes up. Celestino thinks I could, but–” Yuuri cut off as his door slammed open.

“Did I miss it?” Phichit asked. “I nearly slept through my alarm.”

“Hello, Phichit!” Viktor said. “No, you haven’t, why are you setting alarms?”

“So I see the assignments! Gotta know where you guys end up!” Phichit stared at his phone. “Come on, assignments, Yuuri needs to know so he can go to bed.”

“And Phichit needs to know so he can go back to bed,” Yuuri added. “He’s ridiculous.”

It only took a few more minutes before Viktor was squealing and clicking. “It’s up! Here we are! I’ve got… America and France.”

Chris groaned. “Canada and Russia. Damn. I wanted to compete against you.”

“Oh well, it means we can both go in with two golds. Yuuri?”

“Japan and France. I’m not going to complain about two assignments, especially since I did get one with you, Viktor, but France is the one I didn’t want.”

“Why not?” France was the best one, in Viktor’s opinion. Sure, Moscow was a lot closer, but Paris was one of his favorite cities to skate in.

“Because it means I’m spending my 18th birthday on a plane home.” Viktor glanced at the dates – sure enough, the last day of competition was the 28th. Now he felt a little bad.

Chris had a good suggestion, though. “Or you could not spend it on a plane home and spend your 18th birthday in Paris! Fly home on the 30th!”

“Why would I do that? I don’t know anyone in Paris…”

“I’ll stay with you, of course!” Viktor said. “The only way Yakov doesn’t already expect me to ask to stay in Paris an extra day or two just because I love the city is if he hasn’t seen the assignments yet.”

 

Yakov rolled his eyes and grumbled and threatened, but he never said no. Yuuri talked to his parents, who agreed that spending the day in Paris would be a much better birthday than spending the day on a plane, and he should go ahead and do that. Yuuri promised to call them and tell them all about the competition first thing that morning.

The day before the NHK, Viktor got on email to do what he could to help Yuuri.

_Remember what Celestino said. You don’t care about where you place right now, you’re just trying to earn a good score. I know you want to win, everyone does, but even if you come in last you can still consider it a good competition if your score is where you want it to be._

_You’re a good skater. You know that. You don’t need me to tell you that. You don’t need anyone to tell you that. The thing is, you need to hear it. So once again: you are a good skater. Your spins and step sequences are right up there with anyone in seniors. Your jumps may hold you back, since you don’t have the quad ready for competition yet, but that doesn’t mean you’re a bad skater. It just means that you have room to improve._

_No matter what happens, all anyone can ask of you is that you do your best. Good luck!_

He woke up early to get enough practice in that Yakov would let him leave early to watch. Yuuri looked nervous, but he skated well, and Celestino had to be pleased with Yuuri’s score as he broke 70. It was good enough for him to finish fourth for the day, which had Viktor bouncing and texting Chris in excitement. He was very close, less than a point and a half separated 3rd through 6th, but Yuuri had placed well.

Yuuri wrote to Viktor almost immediately after.

_Celestino’s very excited. There’s no way I can win this, but I can medal. He’s very happy with me for breaking 70, and I know we’re trying not to get too hung up on place, but fourth is good. Very good._

_Celestino’s excited. I’m kind of freaking out. If I mess up tomorrow, that’s all right, I’m used to messing up. If I do well, I have a chance of medaling, and that sets up pressure for Paris. I can’t win Paris, I know that, there is no way I can beat you right now, but a medal here sets me up for the possibility of going to the Finals. I’d like to, of course, but I’m worried that the pressure will get to me._

Viktor wanted so bad to hug Yuuri and tell him to relax. All he could do, though, was write back.

_Finals are certainly a possibility, but this is only the first event. France is the last event, and you’ll know what you need. You’ll know what everyone else needs, and what they’ve shown in the prior competitions. You’ll know what the expectations of what’s possible will be, and there are some very good skaters there. I’m going to win, of course, but you’ll know what you can do._

_Besides, I’ll be there! It will annoy Yakov, but if you need it, you can come to me to get a hug to calm you down. Remember that this season isn’t about placement, it’s about score, and as long as you do your best, no one would be disappointed with you if you didn’t go to Finals._

Yuuri didn’t look nervous at all as he took the ice. Scores had been pretty low so far; Yuuri had the chance to do very well. 143 was very good, not quite as good as he’d done at Junior Worlds, but it was early and he was still settling into this program instead of performing a routine he was comfortable with. Surprisingly, it held up, proving to be good enough to give Yuuri the bronze medal.

Yuuri called as soon as the medal ceremony was over. “I medaled. My first time in a Grand Prix qualifier, junior or senior, and I medaled.”

“Yes, you did! What did Celestino have to say about your score?”

“He said that for this point in the season it was good, and that he considered this a successful competition even if I didn’t set a personal best in the free skate. By France, I should be even better. The bronze medal is a nice bonus.”

“Sounds like the best way to think about it to me! I’m so happy for you.”


	15. Chapter 15

Canada brought Chris a silver medal, behind Nicolas’s gold. America brought Viktor gold. Russia was Chris’s turn for the gold, and the four boys got together on Skype to celebrate Chris getting to go to the Finals. “All right, Viktor, your turn. Yuuri, it’d be nice if you got in too, but don’t let that pressure you, okay? You’re good, but you’re still pushing your way to the top.”

“Yeah. I know. Viktor’s going to beat me, Nicolas probably will, bronze won’t be enough to put me in. I’m aiming for new personal bests, not Finals.”

“When are you flying in?” Viktor asked. He couldn't wait to see Yuuri.

“The 24th. Our flight gets there at 10:55, assuming it’s on time. What about you?”

Perfect! “11:40, same day. Will Celestino let you meet up with me for lunch?”

“I don’t see why not, as long as I promise to eat smart. I kind of have a tendency to stress eat during competitions, so…”

Chris snorted. “That might explain your stamina. Besides, you’re an eighteen-year-old competitive athlete, you can easily work it off in practice.”

“I'm not eighteen yet.”

“You're close enough!” Chris said.

“And I gain weight really easily. In the off-season, I get a little chubby. It’s one of the reasons my classmates used to bully me. Thanks to Celestino and being seventeen and having a growth spurt it didn’t happen this year, which is why you didn’t notice, Viktor.”

Viktor had been just about to say something, but now he just grinned. “I bet you’re cute with a little extra weight!”

“I don’t think so. But thank you.”

 

Celestino had absolutely no problem with Yuuri hanging out with Viktor. “He’s good for you. You always seem so much happier and more focused after you’ve had the chance to talk to him. Have fun.”

Yakov rolled his eyes, but he didn’t say anything when Viktor ran away to hug Yuuri. “Did Phichit do it?”

“No.” Phichit had threatened to pack himself in Yuuri’s suitcase so he could come along. “Celestino overheard him talking about it and told him that if he could talk his parents into buying him tickets and paying for food, he could come along nice and above-board and not have to worry about me hurting myself trying to carry him through the airport.”

“What about school?”

“They’re off this week, some American holiday. He’s going back with Celestino on the 29th, so he’ll only miss a couple days.”

“So where is he?” If Phichit was here, they should hang out with him!

“At the hotel. He has a science project he wants to get finished so he can enjoy his vacation without it getting ruined by stupid homework. His words.”

 

Yuuri refused to slack off and Yakov wouldn’t let Viktor, but the two of them still had plenty of time to explore Paris with Phichit. Viktor had been here frequently, so he acted as tour guide, taking his friends to all his favorite spots. It was perfect. The only way it could have been better is if Chris had been able to come as well.

Yuuri had drawn very early in the short program. Yuuri didn’t seem happy about that, but Viktor thought it would be a good idea. Less chance for him to get in his own head and distract himself. It worked well, as his 75 was a significant improvement over Japan. It held up through the first group. Nicolas beat it almost immediately in the second group, and Viktor put up an 80, but they were the only two. Nicolas, Viktor was pretty much resigned to having on the podium with him, but if he could have Yuuri on his other side, that would be the best possible outcome.

Yuuri came to Viktor almost immediately for a hug. “We did good! Celestino’s very happy with my score, and you’re in first.”

“We did! I’m so proud of us. How are you feeling about tomorrow?”

“Right now, I’m not. Tonight, that’s when it will get bad.”

“If it gets bad, call me. Or if you don’t want to call me because it’s late and I have to compete tomorrow, call Chris.”

“Phichit’s right there…”

“True, and if he’s helpful, then that’s great. If you need more help, don’t forget you have people to call, okay?”

“Okay.”

 

Yuuri was fine all evening, thanks to Viktor and Phichit staying close, but Viktor worried when they said good night. He’d tried to give Yuuri all the hugs and support he could, but would it be enough? Would it help, if Yuuri started to panic? There was no way to know. Viktor did the responsible thing for himself and put his phone on Do Not Disturb before going to bed.

In the morning, Viktor picked up his phone. Yuuri hadn’t tried to contact him. That could either be a bad or good thing. He’d just have to see how Yuuri was.

When he got to the rink, he nearly started cursing. Nicolas was talking to Yuuri, and Yuuri did not look happy. Viktor walked up to them and put his arms around Yuuri, hugging him from behind. “Good morning! Did you sleep well?”

Yuuri had tensed up a little at the first touch, but as soon as he heard Viktor’s voice, he relaxed and leaned back against Viktor. “Not really, but better than I’d feared.”

“Glad to hear that. Good morning, Nicolas. Sorry for interrupting!”

“No you’re not. Good morning, Viktor. Does Yakov know you’re over here flirting with your competition?”

“Yakov knows where I am and why.”

Nicolas rolled his eyes and walked away, and Yuuri gave a big sigh of relief. “Thanks. He was being annoying, trying to make me believe you’re gonna ditch me if I do too well today.”

“Huh? Why… why would I do that?”

“Well, you know. When we first became friends, a lot of people were wondering if you were building me up just to knock me down and make sure I never became a real threat to you, and I’m less than a point off second place, after medaling at my first qualifier. Might be time to knock me down.”

“And you set him straight?” If not, Viktor might have to go do that. He was sick of Nicolas being a twit.

“No, I just let him talk. If I’d tried to argue, it would’ve just made things worse for me.” Yuuri pulled away from Viktor. "I need to warm up, and you do too, but thank you for the hug."

Viktor wanted to watch Yuuri, but Yakov wouldn’t let him. He had to skate with only one skater between them. He could still listen for the score, though, and he celebrated when he heard the score pop up. 153 was huge for Yuuri! Once again, Nicolas beat him, but not by much, and then Viktor went out and beat them both badly. Yuuri was on the podium with him and Nicolas. Two bronze medals didn’t give Yuuri enough points to make the Finals, but Viktor and Nicolas both did.


	16. Chapter 16

Viktor won the Grand Prix Finals easily. He was a lot more interested in watching Japan’s nationals than participating in his own. He’d win his easily, but Yuuri… that could be interesting. Tenth last year, but Yuuri was so much better this year, and so much more confident in himself and his skating. Still, even he was surprised when Yuuri was in first after the short program.

_That was amazing! It’s okay if you drop in the free skate, since you still don’t have the quad ready for competition, and that’s where most people put their quads. You’re going to be amazing, and you’ve already shown so much growth from last year._

_Worlds will be much more fun if you’re there with me! Even if you don’t make it, do you think you could come? I know Phichit probably can’t because of school, but Chris should be there, and the three of us have so much fun together._

_Has Chris told you anything about this guy he’s dating? He won’t tell me anything, but he’s been seen with the same guy for over a month, which is longer than usual for him. I tried to ask about him at the Finals, but Chris wouldn’t even tell me his name!_

Yuuri’s response was slower than usual in coming, which Viktor chalked up to staying focused on skating at Nationals. He watched eagerly as Yuuri took the ice to skate – and almost immediately surprised Viktor by doing a quad toe loop. He put a hand down, but it was a fully-rotated quad! With the rest of his program clean, only some small errors on other jumps, it was going to be a very high score. High enough?

High enough for second, which ought to be good enough for Four Continents for sure, and with the margin between him and third, should be good enough for Worlds, too. Viktor wasn’t going to get too excited until Japan announced their team, but he had high hopes.

His phone rang not long afterward – Yuuri. “Congratulations! That quad toe loop was great for a first try in competition! I’m so proud of you!”

“Celestino’s in a huge fight with a JSF rep. I don’t know what it’s about, but I can’t come up with anything good if they’re fighting. I was going to wait until they announced the list to write back, so I’d be able to tell you if I was coming to Worlds as a competitor, but then this happened and I… I needed to hear your voice, I guess. Do you have any idea what they’d be arguing over?”

“No good ones. My best guess is that there’s a dispute about sending you to Worlds – you’re the silver medalist and last year’s junior world championship gold should count for something, but if the JSF wants to send someone more experienced at the senior level, Celestino may be arguing for you? I can stay on the line until Celestino comes to explain it to you, if you’d like. I have some comments about your jumps, if you’d like to hear them now, or I can tell you about Makkachin? Whatever you think will help distract you best.”

“How about Chris first? He hasn’t said anything to me about anyone special. Do you think he has an actual boyfriend?”

“It’s possible, although not likely. At least, Chris hasn’t said anything to me about changing his mind and wanting anything more permanent than a week or two fling. But then again… it’s been a month…”

“Are you jealous?” Yuuri asked very quietly.

“No, of course not, if this is a boyfriend I hope things work out for him and he’s happy. If it’s not a boyfriend, same thing, I hope whatever he is doing makes him happy.” The question made little sense at all to Viktor. Sure, he and Chris had talked about dating, but Viktor thought he’d made it very clear that he didn’t consider Chris his in any way that would be expected to be exclusive. Just like Yuuri, the only things he wanted from them was their friendship and to see them happy. “What’s Phichit been up to?”

“His hamster died last week. He said that when I got back from Nationals, I need to take him to a pet store and buy him a new one.”

“Why?”

“Because they won’t sell directly to him since he’s not eighteen. He’ll give me the money for it, he promised. He’d better.”

Viktor giggled. “I love Phichit. He’s so fun. Why hamsters?”

“I asked him one time and he got all offended and went into this long rant about hamster anatomy and personality and hamster care and how they were clearly the best animal ever imagined, with the possible exception of dragons. My eyes glazed over about three sentences in, but I got the point. He loves hamsters.”

“Poodles are better.”

“You’re right, but I’m not about to say that to him! He’d probably give me another rant, this time with a slideshow and YouTube videos. He…” Yuuri trailed off, and Viktor waited for him to finish his thoughts. Instead, he said, “Celestino’s headed over. He doesn’t look very happy. Guess it’s time to hang up.”

“Good-bye, call back if you need to once you find out what happened!” Viktor hung up and waited to hear from Yuuri. When he hadn’t called back half an hour later, Viktor was starting to get a little nervous, so he went for a run – taking his phone, of course, he was not about to miss Yuuri’s call.

Yuuri didn’t call. There was an email instead.

_The JSF wants me to skate for them at Four Continents and Worlds - _if_ I pass some very strict drug testing. Someone’s started a rumor that I’m doping. Celestino is pissed off because he has never had trouble with a skater taking unauthorized drugs and he believes that the improvement I’ve shown in the last year is entirely due to my hard work and improved confidence in myself. He thinks that if I submit to the testing, it gives the rumors more power._

_I’m not doping. I swear I’m not doping. It has all been hard work and improved confidence, along with Celestino’s coaching and your friendship and advice. I don’t think you’d believe the rumors, but I want to make very sure that you know that._

_I’ve agreed to the testing – I understand Celestino’s point about not dignifying the rumors, but when the tests come out clean, that’s a nice hard stick to fight back with, don’t you think? Anyway, it’s worth it to be able to compete. See you at Worlds!_

Viktor was seeing red after two sentences. He had a pretty good suspicion where the rumor was coming from, but no way to prove it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay on this! Been fighting sickness all week - I'm better now - and had some due dates that were looming.


	17. Chapter 17

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Yuuri’s first round of drug testing came back clean. Celestino and Yuuri were both doing everything they could to keep the rumors as quiet as possible, and for the most part, they were successful.

Viktor had expected Chris to want to share a room with his boyfriend, but not long before Europeans, Chris called and asked if they were sharing a room. Once convinced that Chris was serious, Viktor agreed readily. Chris had promised answers, which he eagerly awaited.

Chris had barely closed the door when he started talking. “His name’s Johann, we broke up, and for once it wasn’t because I was bored and looking to move on. It also had nothing to do with you. He was getting harassed by anonymous internet trolls, I wouldn’t make a long-term commitment, so he decided to end things.”

“What was he getting harassed for?”

“Taking me off the market. Which is more fair than Yuuri getting harassed for you, since we were dating and I wasn’t hooking up because of him, but still, really?”

Viktor tried to make sense of this. His thoughts immediately jumped to Nicolas, but that was probably unfair. Still, who would harass someone just because Chris liked them that much? “Does this mean you’re starting to think about settling down?”

Chris snorted. “No. I just really, really liked Johann, and for the time we were together, he was worth it. He knew who I am and that I wasn’t planning on it lasting forever, just enjoying the ride while it did, so I don’t feel bad about it ending, just the way it did. He didn’t deserve the hate.”

“No, he didn’t. Why wouldn’t you tell me anything about him before? It’s not like you to keep secrets!”

“I… at first, I didn’t think it would last anywhere near as long as it did, and I don't exactly make a habit of telling you about everyone I date for a week or two. And then when it did, I didn’t want you getting the wrong idea and being mad at me for anything. I know you’re happy, us just being friends, but there was always kind of the idea that if I started thinking seriously about settling down…”

“Chris. If things with Johann had gone differently and you’d ended up marrying him and living happily ever after, no one would be happier for you than me. You don’t owe me anything, I don’t owe you anything, we both do what makes us happy. I thought we’d been through this already.”

“We have, I know, it's just the first time it's actually been right there in front of us and I kind of panicked. Same deal for Yuuri?”

“Same deal for Yuuri. If he finds someone who makes him happy, good for him.”

“This doping rumor sucks. Yuuri would never. Any idea where the rumor came from?”

“I think it was probably Nicolas. He seems determined to mess up our friendship. No proof, so don’t let that leave this room, but he’s the only person I can think of who would hate Yuuri enough to pull this kind of bullshit.”

 

Yakov did his best to keep reporters from getting at Viktor to ask the question, but at Europeans, one got through. “Viktor, your friendship with Yuuri over the last year has drawn a lot of attention. How do you feel about the questions about his athletic integrity?”

“I have quite a lot of feelings about them. First, I feel that it is very insulting to Yuuri to question him. If you look at the improvement he’s made, it’s not that he’s suddenly gotten stronger or better stamina or recovers from injury faster, it’s that he’s started landing his jumps much more consistently. As far as I know, there are no drugs that will give you that kind of control. Second, I think it’s very insulting to Celestino Cialdini. You’re taking the credit for his hard work helping Yuuri improve and giving it to drugs that Celestino has never been accused of using or directing or allowing a skater to use before. Questioning Yuuri’s integrity questions Celestino’s as well, and I have never known a coach with stronger integrity than Coach Celestino.”

The reporter gasped. “Including Yakov?”

“I said stronger. I would consider Yakov and Celestino equal. Third, this one is a bit of a reach, but I can’t help but draw the connection. There has been a lot of talk about how much better Yuuri got suddenly after he and I became friends, including speculation that I’m setting him up for some sort of fall. Now there’s talk that he’s doping. I take that a bit personally as it could imply that I’m the one giving him the drugs or at least encouraging him to take them. As an advocate of clean sports, one who appears in several anti-doping PSAs, this could be seen as an attack on my reputation and the attempts of the IOC and other bodies to promote clean competition. Yuuri is my friend. He is one of my best friends. I haven’t had the chance to stand beside him on a podium, yet, and I very much want that opportunity. Here’s the thing, though. Friend or not, competition or not, the integrity of the sport matters. I stand behind Yuuri 100%, not because he is my friend, but because there is no doubt in my mind that these rumors are slanderous, malicious, and just plain wrong. Using slander to disrupt a competitor is no different in my mind to using physical sabotage. It’s just more difficult to prove. Doping is not the only way to gain an unfair advantage.”

“So you believe these rumors are coming from another skater? Who?”

“It doesn’t have to be another skater. It could be their coach or choreographer or someone from their national skating body seeking an advantage for their skater. It could be a skater’s friends, family, or fans, doing it out of misdirected love. The skater may not even be aware of it! I do have my suspicions as to where it’s coming from, but as I have no proof, I will not say anything further.”

 

At practice the next day, Nicolas kept glaring at Viktor. That was all right. Let him glare. He trusted Chris to keep quiet, so if Nicolas thought Viktor had accused him, it was just the product of his own guilty conscience. Viktor focused on doing his best. He wanted badly to practice something he was planning for his program, but he wanted to surprise everyone, and he couldn’t do that if he warmed up with it.

After practice, he got a text from Yuuri wishing him luck. When he sent the thanks, Yuuri called. “I just saw the interview. Celestino said to say think you for sticking up for him as well as me, but also to remind you we’re trying to keep this quiet.”

“I know. I just wanted to let the asshole who did this realize what some – hopefully unintended – consequences were. If it comes up again, I’m just going to say that I am fully confident that you will be exonerated and that I have no intention of discussing the matter again.”

“Fair enough. Thank you.”

During the competition, Viktor watched Chris and Nicolas both set very good scores. Not good enough. Viktor went out, and his very first jump, he stole the show. Fully rotated, cleanly landed, first ratified quad flip. It put him on top for the day, and with a clean free skate as well, he got a gold medal. To his great joy, Chris was on the silver spot of the podium; to his even greater joy, Nicolas had made a couple mistakes in the free skate that meant bronze went to an Italian skater.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four Continents

Yuuri was tested again right before Four Continents, and once again, the tests came back clean. At first, some reporters did try to get Viktor to comment more on the situation, or to speculate on who would do this, but Viktor was too good to fall into their traps and too committed to Yuuri to go against his and his coach’s wishes again. Every time he was asked, he said something along the lines of “I’ve said everything I have to say about the matter. I am fully confident that Yuuri’s tests will reveal nothing we don’t already know and I look forward to skating against him at Worlds.”

Four Continents went very well. Yuuri was in third with a 76 after the short program, three-tenths of a point behind the second-place finisher, but well behind the top skater. Cao Bin was good, and Viktor fully expected him to take the gold. Yuuri was very close to tied for second, and the American in second had struggled with his free skate in the Grand Prix, so there was a good chance that Yuuri would be the one to hang on. The other Japanese skater had fallen, ending up in fourth, four points behind Yuuri.

_I’m sure Celestino is telling you this, but don’t panic. A medal is within your reach, but even a top five finish is amazing for you this year! Relax and enjoy yourself and try not to panic too much about being close enough to tied for second. You’re not going to let anyone down if you don’t medal, but just think what medaling here would do to the people who believe those stupid rumors! Forget the scores, forget the medals, just skate to show those assholes you don’t need drugs to be amazing._

Yuuri had appreciated the advice, and taken it to heart. Viktor could see the ‘fuck you’ edge in the way he danced, adding a dimension to the program that hadn’t been there before. He earned a 155, good enough to put him in first for the moment, although Cao Bin still had to skate. The skater he’d been tied with had only put up a 148. With two skaters left, Yuuri was going to medal. Bin got over 160, likely securing the gold, and the other Japanese skater – the one who’d beaten Yuuri at Nationals – blew a couple things to end up at 137 for the day. It was going to be silver for Yuuri.

Yakov looked over Viktor’s shoulder to see why his skater was screaming. “Good. That is the perfect response to the drugging rumors. He’s testing right before Worlds, too, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sure Celestino doesn’t need the advice, but I’m going to suggest he keep a close eye on protocols anyway. Anyone dirty enough to start this kind of rumor is dirty enough to try to tamper with the samples, after being made to look like a fool here. Do not mention the possibility to Yuuri.”

Viktor didn’t need to be told that. If Yuuri thought of it on his own, Viktor wasn’t sure whether he should lie or find some other way to reassure him, but he was not stupid enough to plant the idea in Yuuri’s anxiety-plagued brain.

 

Celestino didn’t need the advice, although he did gratefully accept Yakov’s offer to be a neutral party. Given the time Yakov had turned in his own skater when he found out Kesar was doping behind his back, it would take quite a bit of willful stupidity to believe that Yakov would compromise his reputation for integrity and fair play for his skater’s friend. The ISU agreed to the change in testing venue, and also agreed not to announce it until after everything had happened.

Bonus, it meant Yuuri would be in Saint Petersburg, and they would leave for Moscow together. Viktor had freaked out over the earthquake and tsunami until he’d been able to get hold of Yuuri. Hasetsu was mostly fine; Yuuri was more upset about Tokyo losing Worlds than anything else. Viktor disagreed.

_For most people, having their first Worlds in their home country would be a nice advantage. For you, I think you’re better off with it not being there. Travel you can do. In your home country, you’d be surrounded by fans and supporters, and the JSF would be expecting you to do well to show off for Japan. This way, there’s less worry about letting everyone down. There’s even going to be a sense of not expecting Japanese skaters to do as well as usual, because they’re worried about family or friends back home. If you do well, which I have faith that you will, good for you, but if you don’t, no one will be disappointed. You have a couple of huge distractions, between the earthquake and the scandal. That’s what bugs me most about all this. The scandal should have been over already!_

 

Viktor picked Celestino and Yuuri up at the airport. After a quick stop at the hotel to drop off their bags, he took them to the testing clinic, where they met Yakov, an ISU official, and a representative of the JSF there to monitor. Yuuri took the sample cup with a smile. “Everyone’s watching. I hope I don’t end up with sudden performance anxiety.”

“We’re not… actually watching,” Viktor protested. “We’re just here.”

“I’m kidding, Viktor. Mostly. I don’t care who watches, and the more witnesses, the better proof we have that I’m not somehow faking this, right? Whoever’s coming, let’s go.” Yuuri, the person who was responsible for watching, and the ISU official headed off. When they came back, Yuuri also had to provide a blood sample, and then they could go.

It was too close to Worlds for Viktor to show Yuuri around Saint Petersburg the way he really wanted to, but Viktor did take him a few places, starting with his apartment. “This has been far too long in coming, Yuuri. Come meet Makkachin! She is the best big poodle in the world.”

Yuuri knelt to catch Makkachin when she came flying at him, and Viktor smiled watching Makkachin trying to cuddle Yuuri and lick his face and wag her tail all at once. Yuuri certainly didn’t seem to mind having Makkachin all over him like that. “We definitely need to get you out to meet Vicchan. Both of you. I think Makkachin likes me?”

“How could she not? She has impeccable judgment of character.” Viktor crouched to scratch Makkachin’s flank. “I would love to meet Vicchan. Maybe after Worlds, if Celestino will give you some time off?”

“Possibly! It’s more worrying about school, even though most of my stuff is online I have to go to the school some days for labs and exams, and I need to check my schedule to see what I’m already missing and what’s scheduled afterwards.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Worlds! The results of the short program cause paranoia! And then Chris shoots off his mouth like an idiot!

The initial results were in before Viktor and Yuuri got on the plane to Moscow. Yuuri passed. No one was surprised at all by that result. Viktor stuck as closely to Yuuri as Yakov and Celestino would allow, and as soon as Chris heard the plan, he joined in as well. Yuuri was a little embarrassed by the attention, but it was Viktor and Chris. It wasn’t like he had his coach hovering all the time, and several other skaters joined them for a few hours as a show of solidarity for an athlete they believed to be clean and being slandered. Yuuri did notice a few skaters who avoided him, but he did his best to stop any thoughts that they thought he was guilty. Nicolas was one in particular who avoided Yuuri, although he was hardly going to complain about that.

In the short program, Yuuri kept up the fuck you edge to his skating, doing very well. Just how well, Viktor didn’t fully realize until after Chris skated and Yuuri was still in contention for the final group in the free skate, being in third before the final group. With the American skater who was so good, Bin, Nicolas, and Viktor, it wasn’t likely, but there was a chance!

The American skater took the lead, and Bin beat Yuuri as well. Viktor went out and put forth an inspired skate, brilliant even by his standards, giving him twelve points over the American. All that was left was Nicolas. Yuuri was in sixth, with a 77.52, which Viktor was very relieved to realize meant there was no way Nicolas and Yuuri would be in the same group tomorrow. Viktor watched Nicolas carefully, trying to think like a judge. Nicolas was uncharacteristically sloppy, but then, even sloppy he was better than most skaters. It wasn’t huge mistakes, just an edge that could have been deeper or an awkward-looking motion in his dancing. It was going to be close, Viktor thought, but just how close shocked him. 77.50 for Nicolas. Yuuri had taken sixth in the final group by two hundredths over him.

Yakov, surprisingly, was not happy with the result, and even more surprisingly, Celestino didn’t look happy, either. “What’s wrong? Isn’t sixth good enough?”

“Sixth is great. Yuuri, I’m very happy with how you skated and how you scored. Come on, let’s get out of here.” Celestino walked away, leaving Yuuri to hurry after him.

Viktor watched them go in confusion. “What’s wrong, Yakov?”

“Not here. Back at the hotel. Come on.”

 

Viktor waited impatiently the whole ride back, and even more impatiently while they headed for Yakov’s hotel room. When someone called Viktor’s name, he was about to turn on the full sarcastic cheer until he realized it has been Celestino. “What is it?”

“You and Yakov might as well join me and Yuuri for this talk, Yuuri said he’d just tell you everything anyway.”

“Okay…” Viktor glanced at Yakov, who nodded sharply. They followed Celestino to his hotel room, where Yuuri was waiting in a chair. Viktor plopped on the floor beside him and reached up to hold Yuuri’s hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

“Yuuri, I want you to be extremely vigilant from now until the free skate,” Celestino started. “Don’t eat or drink anything unless you’re certain of where it came from and who’s handled it. We already know you’re going to get called for yet another drug test after tomorrow’s competition, and while I know you’re already being careful, after today’s results I’m not too sure there’s such a thing as careful enough.”

“Okay…? I’ll do what you say, but why the paranoia, Coach?” Yuuri asked.

Celestino glanced at Viktor. “We have no real proof, but Yakov and I have been talking to other coaches. They pretty much all say the same thing – there might be a few Japanese skaters who resent you for coming out of nowhere and suddenly being Japan’s best, but no one in Japan thinks any of them would do anything like this. As far as foreign skaters go, the only names that came up for someone who might have something against you were Nicolas Cuvillier and Christophe Giacometti.”

“Chris would never do anything like this!” Viktor burst out. He wanted names for people who would mention him. “Even if he were the kind of slime who would, _why_?”

Celestino stared Viktor down until he settled himself. “If I thought Christophe were capable of this or thought much of the reasoning, do you think I’d be letting him be such a big part of keeping Yuuri safe?”

“Still. He should never even have come up,” Viktor grumbled.

“What is the reasoning, Coach?” Yuuri asked.

“You boys know there are rumors out there that the two of you are dating, and there have been the same rumors about Chris and Vitya even longer,” Yakov said. “There were a couple people who thought that Chris, as the jilted lover, had it out for the new one.”

Viktor buried his face in his free hand. “Seriously? They’re friends! They’re both my friends!”

“Like I said. I don’t believe there’s anything to that one. Nicolas, on the other hand. I still can’t find a plausible reason for it, but Josef tells me that Nicolas has spread rumors about Yuuri before, and then several people remembered that Nicolas and Yuuri got into something of a fight last year at Worlds. Even if we don’t know why, we do know that Nicolas has something against you, Yuuri.”

The light dawned. “And Yuuri beating Nicolas out for the final group, especially by such a tiny margin, might be enough to push him over the edge. It’s just been words so far, but if he’s angry enough…”

“Exactly.” Celestino crouched in front of Yuuri. “Do you have any idea why Nicolas hates you?”

Yuuri rolled his eyes and squeezed Viktor’s hand. “It wasn’t a fight last year, it was Nicolas yelling at me and blaming me for Viktor’s changed behavior since we met and me running away to cry until I could deal with it some other way. He blames me for the fact that Viktor’s not hooking up with people anymore.”

“Which…”

“I know, Viktor. I’m not the one who you need to convince.”

“That still doesn’t really make any sense, though. I regret the bad judgment now, but a couple times when I was bored and lonely and looking for someone to hook up with, he seemed like a good option at the time.”

Yuuri’s voice shook a little as he asked, “You slept with Nicolas?”

Viktor squeezed his hand again. “No. At the time, it kind of stung, but I’m very grateful now that he turned me down every time. So you see, it doesn’t make any sense that his problem with you is that I’m not sleeping around anymore. If he’d wanted to, he had the opportunity.”

Yuuri looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought. “Maybe he didn’t realize your playboy thing was an act? He wanted an actual relationship with you, but didn’t want to ask for it because he thought you’d say no? And now, he thinks I got what he wanted but didn’t have the courage to ask for, and he’s jealous.”

“Maybe,” Viktor said. It didn’t quite feel right to him, but it certainly made more sense than anything else he’d heard.

 

The paranoia over the next day was starting to drive Viktor nuts by the time he and Yuuri reported to get ready to skate. As bad as it was for him, though, it had to be so much worse for Yuuri. Chris got a good laugh out of the idea that he might have something against Yuuri. “If both rumors were true, I can see where I’d be pissed off, but much more at Viktor than at you. He’s the one who left me, you’re just the one he left me for.”

Viktor, Chris, the American skater currently in second, and the fifth-place skater formed a protective wall shielding Yuuri from any of the others who might want to cause trouble. That lasted until Nicolas left to go skate, and then they spread out. No one thought Bin would cause any trouble. Viktor and Yuuri found a monitor to watch on. Nicolas was good, easily taking the lead heading into the final group, but his 156 was beatable for Yuuri if he had a very good skate. Yuuri had made some adjustments to his program since Four Continents and Viktor’s smile just kept getting bigger as Yuuri landed jump after jump. He didn’t even care where Yuuri ended up – Yuuri’s 163 kicked Nicolas’s butt and showed that it hadn’t been a fluke the day before.

Of course, Viktor would love to see Yuuri make the podium, but he couldn’t argue that Chris didn’t deserve it. Chris’s free skate score was only a couple tenths higher than Yuuri’s, but with the lead from the day before, it was enough. Bin put up a 180, which didn’t worry Viktor too much but meant he was very clearly silver. Viktor took his annoyance and his frustration and channeled it all into his program, setting a world record in the process.

Yuuri was gone by the time Viktor got to the others to wait for the victory ceremony. “Since he didn’t medal, they came and got him for drug testing,” Chris explained. “Celestino went with him, and I don’t think we have to worry anymore. It should all be over.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri gets a bit of a break. The boys have some fun.

There was the victory ceremony to distract him, so Viktor didn’t think too much about Yuuri being gone for testing. He only started to worry when he was back at the hotel with Chris and Yuuri still wasn’t there. Chris hugged him. “He’s fine. He has to be fine. He’s clean, we know that. I don’t know why he’s taking so long to get here, but I’m sure there’s a good reason. Maybe there was some kind of apology?”

“I don’t know. I wish I could believe it. I’ve got a bad feeling.” They wouldn’t have results until the next day, so why were they holding Yuuri? Viktor wanted desperately to see him, to be sure that nothing bad had happened.

Yuuri texted him around midnight.

**_Are you awake_ **

**Yes. What happened? Where were you all evening?**

**_Drug testing, and then a meeting with the ISU._ **   
**_They wanted to know if I wanted an investigation since all my samples have come out clean._ **   
**_Celestino said yes, we want an investigation. We’ll decide what to do about whatever they find when they find it._ **

**Think there’s any chance they come through and find the person who started this?**

**_I don’t know. I figure either they find him and I get closure, or they don’t and everyone forgets._ **

**Probably. Good luck!**

 

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Yuuri’s test came back clean. Again. Both the ISU and the JSF declared that they accepted Yuuri’s continued negative results as evidence that the rumors against him were wrong, whether done maliciously or in good faith. Viktor thought that meant it was over.

Then, right before Viktor had to leave for the World Team Trophy, Chris called him. “New rumor about who started the rumor about Yuuri.”

“Oh? Someone’s finally put the pieces together about Nicolas?”

“I’ve heard that one going around a lot, thanks to the fight at last year's Worlds, but that’s not the one that’s got me calling. I already told Yuuri about it and he’s pissed.”

“Uh-oh. What are they saying?”

“They’re saying that _Yuuri_ started the rumor, so that he’d be put through the strict testing and now that he’s passed and gotten statements of confidence from everyone, he’s going to start doping.”

And Viktor had thought the idea that Chris was involved with this was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. This? This was even stupider. It made no sense. “Why?”

“So he can beat you.”

Viktor could feel his brain breaking. “And people actually believe this?”

“Not that I know of, but the rumor’s out there. I don’t believe it, almost everyone I’ve talked to thinks it was probably Nicolas or a Japanese skater – there’s a couple people I’ve heard mentioned, skaters who thought they were going to break out and be the next big star in Japan and then Yuuri happened.”

“Ugh. This should be over, unless the investigation turns up proof that Nicolas did this. Hey, speaking of Nicolas, random question time?”

“Okay!”

“Did you ever try to hook up with Nicolas?”

“Wow, that is random. A couple times. Not since he started harassing Yuuri, I promise. He always turned me down. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering. Yakov and Celestino think this whole thing is Nicolas is jealous that I’m dating Yuuri.”

“If that were true, wouldn’t he have come after me? Before he started picking on Yuuri, we used to be friends.”

Chris had a good point, but maybe the answer was still there. “Maybe that’s why. Losing out to a friend was one thing, but some random kid set him off. I don’t know.”

 

With the off-season being short, Viktor wasn’t sure whether he’d get much of a vacation, but then Yuuri told him he was going to Hasetsu for a week in June, between spring and summer semester at the university he was planning to attend starting that summer. Chris and Viktor were both invited to come with him, if they could.

There was no way Viktor was missing his chance to get to Hasetsu. He even checked into what he’d need to do to bring Makkachin with him to meet Vicchan. It was easily doable, so he checked to make sure Yu-Topia would let him bring his dog. Anonymously, of course, he didn’t want to spoil the surprise for Yuuri!

Yuuri was indeed very surprised when Viktor picked up Makkachin, but very pleased. Makkachin was happy to see Yuuri and Chris again, barking excitedly at the familiar smells. When they got to Yu-Topia, they were greeted by a tiny poodle. Chris gasped and flopped on the ground to pet the dogs. “I’d seen pictures, you’ve both told me what your dogs look like, but I was not prepared for this! This is too cute!”

“I know, right? Look, they’re already friends!” Viktor smiled at Vicchan bouncing around Makkachin. “They’re so cute.”

“Nothing from the investigation into the person who accused me yet, but they have ruled out that I did it myself,” Yuuri said. “Celestino found that rumor incredibly stupid.”

“Because it is,” Viktor said. “No proof connecting Nicolas yet?”

“Nope. They’ve also ruled you out, Chris. I don’t know if your coach told you they talked to him or not.”

“Another stupid rumor,” Chris said. “Still, good that they’re being thorough.”

"Yeah. They even called Yakov to talk to him to make sure you weren't involved, Viktor. I could hear Yakov yelling from out on the ice."

Viktor burst into laughter. "That sounds like Yakov! He does not suffer idiots well. He didn't say anything to me about the call, so I guess he must have convinced them."

 

Hanging out in Hasetsu was great. Yuuri helped out around the onsen, but he still had a lot of time to play with the dogs and go down to the beach with Viktor and Chris. One day it was raining, so Yuuri took them up to see the ninja house hiding in the castle. That made the rain and the missed opportunity to go to the ocean well worth it.

The best part of it all, though, was meeting Yuuri’s family and friends. Yuuko and Takeshi were amazing people with adorable triplet daughters, just a year old. Mari was the coolest big sister Viktor could imagine. “I wish I’d had a sister like you when I was growing up. I could have used someone to knock some sense into me when I started getting too airheaded!”

Mari grinned. “You know, it’s never too late to start trying. If you want a big sister, I’ll try my best to get some sense beaten into you.”

“Yay!” Viktor hugged Mari. “Good luck. Yakov will tell you I am not a very good student.”

“I had Yuuri to contend with. I can handle difficult,” Mari promised.

Hiroko and Toshiya were so different from his own parents. They were busy all the time, but never too busy to tell stories about their children or ask for stories about Viktor and Chris. Sitting around the table eating dinner was easily Viktor’s favorite time of day, especially when they gave him a bowl of katsudon. Yuuri spent half the time wolfing down his food and half the time trying to hide as his parents told embarrassing childhood anecdotes. 

One thing confused Viktor, though, and he finally thought to ask about it. “Do your parents really not know who Chris and I are other than being your friends?”

“With the inn, they don’t really have a lot of time to watch skating. They’ll stop what they’re doing to watch me, but other than that, they don’t really pay attention. Minako and Mari are the ones who watch and pay attention to other skaters.”

“You’d think, given the posters of you Yuuri has in his room, that Mom and Dad would at least recognize you, Viktor,” Mari said, causing Yuuri to bury his face in his hands. “When you’re here, you’re Yuuri’s friend, the one who owns that dog that looks like Vicchan only bigger.”

“So what am I?” Chris asked.

“You’re Yuuri’s friend, the one who doesn’t have the dog.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last day in Hasetsu, some things go wrong.

The trip to Hasetsu was marred by one thing. Their last day there, while they were sitting on the beach eating the lunch Yuuri had made and packed for them, Yuuri suddenly went very tense and still. Viktor reached out and took his hand. “What’s wrong?”

“Those girls,” Yuuri said, pointing as discreetly as he could toward a group of girls in bikinis setting up a blanket. “Hopefully, they’ll leave us alone, but they were the reason I was so eager to get out of Hasetsu.”

Viktor stared over. If they did come over, Viktor would make absolutely sure they regretted it. “Them. I don’t like them.”

Chris looked between them. “Girl trouble? Exes?”

“Bullies,” Yuuri clarified. “Worse than Nicolas, if only because there’s only one of him and I have you two around. Mari and Yuuko and Takeshi did their best, but there’s only so much they could do since they were well ahead of me in school.”

“Oh. Well, if they come over here, we’ve got you. No one harasses our friend and gets away with it.”

The girls ignored them at first. When Yuuri and Chris ran out into the ocean with the dogs, Viktor stayed behind to clean up. Two of the girls approached. “Hello! Is it true that you and the other guy are Yuuri’s boyfriends?”

Viktor bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the thought of what Nicolas would have to say if he heard that rumor. “No. The three of us are friends.”

“Good. The two of you can do so much better than Yuuri! He may have gotten a little famous, but you two never got to see what a loser he was back here. And look at him, he may have won a couple medals, but he’s mostly famous because he got caught doping.”

“He did not,” Viktor said, eyes flashing and all pretense of humor gone. “He’s famous because he’s becoming one of the world’s best skaters, and no one’s been under more intense scrutiny for doping than him. I don’t think figure skating has a doping problem, but if it does, Yuuri is not part of it. The ISU and the JSF both have declared him clean.”

“I heard that!” The girls both giggled. “But we were around him at school. All he’d ever talk about was some Russian skater that he’d do whatever it took to meet on the ice. As if someone like… oh, what was that guy’s name?”

“Viktor Nikiforov?” Viktor suggested, smile coming back. This was going to be fun.

“Yeah, that was it! You know who he is?”

Chris and Yuuri had started back from the water with the dogs when they saw the girls approach Viktor. The girls hadn’t seen them yet, and Viktor caught Chris’s eyes and shook his head slightly. “Of course I know who he is! I’m Russian!”

“Then you have to know that Viktor Nikiforov would never give Yuuri the time of day, let alone all the things Yuuri was dreaming about.”

Yuuri went crimson and buried his face in his hands. As much fun as Viktor was having letting the girls make fools of themselves, it was time to end this. Viktor squatted to pick up his phone. “It’s 12:43.”

“Huh?”

Viktor pointed behind them, and the girls turned around. They looked a little embarrassed when they saw Yuuri, but not nearly enough for Viktor’s taste. “There you go. I just gave Yuuri the time of day.” He held out a hand to them. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. Viktor Nikiforov, Russian skater, Yuuri’s friend.”

“The one with the dog,” Chris added helpfully, and Makkachin barked once. The girls fled, and Chris finally let out the laughter he’d been holding in. “Did that just happen?”

“That just happened,” Viktor said. “Yuuri, are you all right?”

“I think so. What did they want? Please tell me they weren’t hitting on you?”

Viktor shrugged. “They might have been leading up to that, but they led by asking if Chris and I were your boyfriends.”

“Oh no, that’s even worse,” Yuuri said, plopping down into the sand. “They wouldn’t have believed you if you said yes.”

“I thought about it, but that was when I thought they knew who I was,” Viktor said.

“Thank you for thinking better of it. They’d come up with all kinds of crazy ideas.” Yuuri shuddered. “I don’t want Mari or Yuuko or Takeshi hearing their nonsense about me somehow tricking or forcing you into anything.”

Christophe sat beside Yuuri. “I wonder… could they be the ones behind the crazy idea that you were doping?”

“Even with you being officially cleared, they said you were mostly famous for doping,” Viktor said. “But how would they know how to get that rumor taken seriously before you knew it was out there?”

“They wouldn’t.” Yuuri sighed and shook his head. “I suppose it’s possible, and I’ll mention it to Celestino – they’ve investigated stupider possibilities.”

 

They went inside when announcements were due to come out, and Yuuri had his phone out and set up just in time for Phichit’s call. “Hi everyone!”

“Hi, Phichit!” Viktor waved. “Why didn’t you come?”

“My parents wouldn’t let me. They said that if I wanted to fly that far for a week’s vacation, I could come home, or I could spend the week in Detroit.” Phichit pouted. “In a few years they won’t be able to stop me, but while I’m underage and they’re still paying what sponsorship doesn’t…”

“Yeah, even convincing Mom to let me fly to Russia from Switzerland was a hard sell,” Christophe said.

“Thankfully I was already eighteen and Yakov encouraged me going to visit my friends in the offseason!” Viktor said.

“Did any of you take the option for a third skate?” Phichit asked.

“I did. It won’t count toward the Finals, but…” Yuuri blushed a little. “I wanted to flaunt that I had the option and Nicolas didn’t, despite everything I went through last year. Of course, that’s not what I told Celestino, I told him I wanted the money and had the stamina to handle three competitions in six weeks.”

“Hopefully four in eight weeks!” Viktor said.

“We’ll see.” Yuuri stared at the computer and hit F5 again. “It’s up! Here we go!”

Viktor looked down the list. “Canada and Russia for me. Not bad.”

“America and France, darn.” Chris nudged Viktor. “I wanted to have one against you before Finals.”

“Same! Yuuri?”

“America, China, and Russia. One each against you two, and the one against Viktor doesn’t count toward whether I make Finals. Only way it could be better is if Chris were at that one too.”

Viktor checked something and groaned. “Or if Nicolas weren’t in China. He’s got that and France.”

Yuuri shuddered. “I am not looking forward to that one. Celestino will be there and I know he’ll do his best to protect me, but it’s not the same as having the two of you.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uhoh. Drama rears its ugly head right before Skate America.

A week before Skate America, Viktor checked his email and stared in confusion. Usually, Yuuri knew how to spell.

_The ISU thinks they hav a suspek. Too, actualy. Not tose girlz. Theyre too dum to do this._

_NIcoface is on of them. Never heard of Ran… Rhan… some girl from Bellaruss. Supposly she’s your girlfiend, but pretty shur you’d have said something about having on on thoz._

Viktor didn’t answer right away, hoping there would be another email clarifying things when he got done with practice. English was hard enough to read without having to translate from… whatever Yuuri was writing in… to English first. The girl from Belarus was probably Rahnieda Trusava, but Viktor didn’t think she’d have done it. It was possible and if the ISU was mentioning her as a suspect this late in the game maybe there was more to it, but Nicolas still seemed like the more likely suspect.

There was indeed another email when he got done with practice.

_I am so sorry about last night’s email. I still don’t know how to spell the Belarus girl’s name, but it’s something like Raneda. And then Nicolas, of course._

_The email was so messed up because I was drunk. Don’t tell anyone, America’s a lot stricter about underage drinking than Japan, but one of my rinkmates wanted to celebrate his birthday and took all of us who were at least eighteen with him. The drinking, I expected, but he took us to a dance lesson first. I think he should have taken us to the dance lesson after, but he didn’t ask me. Celestino laughed his ass off when he heard about it this morning, which he had to because we showed up covered in bruises. I was worried he’d be mad because of the bruises, but he says that I’ve skated through worse just from bad falls during practice and they’ll be covered by my costume, so he’s not mad at all._

_Phichit’s mad at me. He says we should’ve taken him along for the dance lesson, and then he could catch a bus or a cab home. I had to promise to take him next summer to get him to forgive me. This is going to be interesting._

Viktor was now intensely curious about this dance lesson. Ballet often left bruises on the feet, but not so different from skating that Celestino would have noticed, and not at the likely level taught for a single lesson for a birthday celebration. What kind of dancing were they doing that would leave noticeable bruises?

_Rahnieda Trusava? We hooked up once, and I ended up having to block her number to get her to stop calling me. Not my girlfriend, and I’d have thought that three years would have convinced her of that, but maybe not. I doubt it’s her, she’s obsessive and clingy but I’ve never heard of her being spiteful or paying that much attention to gossip. She never said or did anything rude to Chris._

_I’m very curious about this dance lesson! Tell me more! Please?_

 

Yuuri’s next email didn’t say a word about the dance lesson, and Viktor was quite disappointed not to hear anything more about it until Skate America when he got a call from Chris. “Viktor, you are going to love this. Imagine, if you will, our good friend Yuuri, in tiny shorts and nothing else, sliding down a pole.”

“What?”

“The bruises are mostly faded, but I know pole dancing bruises when I see them, and Yuuri has been pole dancing sometime in the last week. He refuses to tell me anything about it, but Phichit was perfectly happy to share the picture he’d gotten from one of their rinkmates who was there.”

Viktor waited patiently, and sure enough, Chris came through. Viktor opened the picture and suddenly understood the anime thing of nosebleeds. Once he’d dealt with that, he picked up the phone. “Are you still there, Chris?”

“Yes, I’m still here. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you make that noise, what happened?”

“Nothing, I’m fine, I was just not prepared. Thank you forever for this.” Viktor shook his head to clear it. “It was just one lesson, but he’s taking Phichit this summer. If you can get the date out of Phichit, field trip?”

“Viktor, seriously, are you all right? I was kind of expecting this to be the part where you yelled at me for going behind Yuuri’s back to get details.”

“These are important details! He wouldn’t even tell me it was pole dancing, just that there were bruises! If I’d thought of it, I’d have been texting Phichit for answers!” Which, yes, Viktor now felt somewhat bad about. Not bad enough to delete the picture, though.

He did at least let Yuuri know he had it.

_Why wouldn’t you tell me? Chris has been taking lessons since he was sixteen, I wouldn’t judge you for it, especially since you were just there to help your friend celebrate his birthday. You look really good and you have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about there!_

 

Viktor didn’t hear anything from Yuuri until after the skating was over, and Chris said Yuuri was shutting him out, too, keeping to himself.

_I didn’t tell you about the pole dancing because I am embarrassed about it. Even being in competition shape and knowing I can dance, I still felt so awkward, and I don’t like exposing myself like that. I knew I didn’t have a chance at keeping it quiet once I go with Phichit, because he’s going to put it all over social media, but that would be after the season and I’d have time to get used to it over the off-season. I hadn’t counted on my best friends being horrible people who would gossip about me all over the place._

_Even if it’s just you and Chris and Phichit and the people who were there, I still don’t like the thought that it’s out there and people are talking about it. If this gets to Nicolas in the next couple of weeks… I was already not looking forward to China, and now it’s even worse. Please don’t tell anyone or show anyone else the picture._

_Silver here gives me a good chance at making Finals, so that’s good. I don’t mind losing to Chris. He did great. If I could just land that quad salchow in China, I have a decent chance to beat Jake, and we already know I can beat Nicolas. Even if I don’t beat either of them, bronze might still be enough. At least I don’t have any pressure in Russia._


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cup of China. Ouches happen.

Viktor skated to an easy gold in Canada. With almost a month before Russia, he devoted as much of his attention as Yakov would let him get away with sending Yuuri support, distractions, and anything else he could think of that would help. He didn’t mention the pole dancing, figuring that conversation could wait until Russia, or even next off-season. For one thing, that would give him a chance to sort out his reaction to it. It’s not like he hadn’t known that his best friends were both incredibly hot, and he’d seen Chris work a pole before and never had trouble dealing with it. The last thing he wanted was for this to make things weird with Yuuri.

After the short program, Viktor was furiously typing when his phone rang. “Yuuri?”

“Please tell me you were not watching.”

“Sorry, but I was. Are you injured? That fall on the quad toe loop looked bad, but you shook it off well, but I know sometimes the show has to go on and you deal with the horribly abused foot after.”

He could almost hear Yuuri’s flinch. “I’m fine, really, but…” There was a pause and some conversation in Italian Viktor couldn’t follow. “Okay, sorry, my coach said that I shouldn’t lie to you, my ankle’s a little swollen and my foot’s kind of purple, but I’ll be able to skate in the free program. I have a day off.”

“Yuuri, you know how much I want to see you in the Finals, so I am begging you to give this due consideration: please, _please_ listen to your coach and withdraw if he thinks you need to. If you don’t withdraw here, withdraw from Russia if you think you need the extra time to skate your best at Finals. It doesn’t count for anything. I want to see you, but not at the expense of you suffering from an injury you’re not letting heal.”

Yuuri started crying loudly enough for Viktor to hear over the phone, and Viktor’s stomach plummeted. What did you do with a crying best friend when you weren’t there to just kiss him or something? “After that mess today, do you really think I can still get to the Finals? I’m in _sixth_ , Viktor! Realistically, I need at least bronze, and preferably silver or gold to get to the Finals.”

“Yes, you are in sixth, Yuuri. You’re also only ten points behind second, and I know your base value is high and your PCS scores are going to be the best in Shanghai that day. Skate clean and you still have a chance. I have faith in you, you can do this, and I will be waiting to give you a big hug the next chance I get even if you don’t.” Viktor put a finger to his lips, thinking. “You usually skate best when you’ve got something to prove or some spite to work out. I’m sure Nicolas has been saying some absolutely lovely things about you. Make him eat those words. You don’t need to know exactly what they are, don’t go looking for them, just use them.”

Yuuri’s tears changed, and Viktor was relieved to hear that he was laughing. “You’re not going to believe this.” He switched to Russian. “One reason I was a little off today was that he somehow got hold of that picture of me that Phichit shared.”

“I swear, I had nothing to do with that, I haven’t showed anyone,” Viktor said immediately. “Why are we speaking Russian?”

“Because my coach would go nuts if he found out about this and I really don’t want him in trouble. It’s not worth it.”

“Oh. How awful was Nicolas about it?”

“He hit on me. I don’t know if he thinks I’m a slut because of the pole dancing or if he was no better than those asshole girls from back home, but either way, it was gross and weird and I had a little trouble shaking it off.”

“It’s a good thing I won’t see him until Finals. I just might kill him.”

“Please don’t. If you’re going to throw away your skating career, do it for someone worthwhile, not him.”

“Fair enough. Any idea how he got hold of the picture?”

“Yeah, actually, I know exactly how he got it. Thomas – the guy whose birthday we were celebrating – posted about the pole dancing trip on Facebook – including a picture of me. Phichit showed me as soon as he saw it. Nicolas liked the post.”

“Well, at least that makes sense. And doesn’t involve you not being able to trust your closest friends.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, new question, since when do you speak Russian? You never have before!”

“I haven’t needed to, and you know me and my confidence. I know you know I’ve been your fan for years. Aside from posters and stuff, one of the few non-essential things I bought were whatever Russian language programs I could get my hands on. I haven’t wanted to use it until now because if my accent is horrible or I can’t remember words, I didn’t want you to think I was stupid.”

“Your accent is adorable, and you’re doing fine with words. I’m impressed.”

“I… kind of have a talent for languages, my teachers said back in Hasetsu when I started learning English. Celestino agrees and when all this shit with Nicolas started happening, he taught me some Italian so that we could talk without unwanted eavesdroppers.”

“Clever! Anything more on the doping investigation?”

“Well, Rahnieda suddenly withdrew from a competition she was supposed to be in this week, and all anyone’s said about it is that they can’t discuss the reasons for it. I don’t know for sure, but I would guess it’s somehow related.”

“Huh. I may owe Nicolas an apology for being so sure it was him. I’m not going to give it, but I may owe him.” Petty, maybe, but Viktor so did not care.

 

Two days later, Viktor couldn’t get to his phone fast enough when it rang. “I TOLD YOU!”

“Yes, you did. My foot’s fine, by the way. The ankle swelling’s completely gone and my foot’s still bruised to all hell but I’m a dancer and a figure skater, I am used to bruised feet. I’ll be both in Moscow and in Quebec!”

“Yes, you will. Any idea what happened to Nicolas?”

“No idea, don’t really care, couldn’t happen to a nicer skater, and the podium was sure much better than I’d expected. Jake deserved that gold, and Yi Meng’s always seemed like a decent enough guy.” Nicolas had skated very poorly, ending up in fifth, while Yuuri had won the free skate to give him second overall. There was some muffled Italian on the other end of the line, and then Yuuri came back. “You know that apology you thought you owed Nicolas? Forget it. Celestino just told me he left right after his skate, escorted by an ISU official.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry about the long wait! For some reason, the last two weeks of school brought writer's block with them. I'm punching my way through it, and it is officially SUMMER VACATION, so this should not happen again.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Answers!

Viktor didn’t hear anything for the next three weeks. Oh, sure, Yuuri stayed in contact and they made all kinds of wild plans that would never happen for what they’d do in Moscow, but if Yuuri knew anything about what had happened with Nicolas, he wasn’t saying.

Neither was Chris, although he did report the rumors going around in France. Nicolas had withdrawn, with no official explanation given other than “considering his future”, which naturally sparked speculation. Chris reported everything from an undisclosed injury to a cancer diagnosis to he got caught doping to he had knocked up a fan who was suing him for child support to he was found responsible for the rumors about Yuuri and by “considering his future” what he meant was “deciding between accepting a suspension and trying to come back after or just retiring now”.

“Naturally, that last one’s the one I believe, although I’m not weighing in on the speculation. It’s all anyone’s talking about in the locker room – well, that and ‘Viktor’s protégé’ making the Finals. Everyone’s excited to see what’s going to happen when he has to skate against you on such a big stage – apparently Worlds doesn’t count because he had too much else going on for either of you to worry about skating against each other.”

Viktor rolled his eyes. “What’s going to happen is I’m going to support him as best I can and make sure he knows that even if he finishes last, he’s still one of the top six skaters in the Grand Prix.”

“Yeah, but for the people who don’t know you, they’re thinking this is where they find out your true intentions. Which, yes, I _know_ , your true intentions are to be his friend and a support system to help him reach his potential.”

“It’s been two years. People still think…?”

“It’s been two years, but this is the first time he’s been taken seriously as even a remote potential threat. No one’s considering him a lock for the podium the way you are, but they’re saying there’s no such thing as a Grand Prix Finalist who can’t take a medal.”

“Which is true! Yuuri can medal at the finals! Anyone who doubts that can take it up with me.” They would quickly come to regret it, too.

 

The first thing Viktor did when he got to Moscow was check to see when Yuuri’s flight would arrive. It was already there, having beaten him by half an hour, so he texted Yuuri to figure out where to meet up.

They met up at the hotel. Celestino, Viktor had expected to see. Chris and Josef, not so much. “Hello! What are you doing here? You’ve got Finals to prepare for!”

“Josef insisted. I don’t know why. I’m not complaining about being here to hang out with you two, but the missed practice…”

Celestino cleared his throat. “Get checked in, and then meet in my hotel room. You two deserve to hear this both in person, and they’ll be making the official announcement next week.”

Yakov was already headed for the check-in counter, and for once, Viktor decided to let Yakov handle it. This was a big deal. “Results of the investigation into Yuuri?”

“Yes. Not here. Get settled in, then come find me.”

Fortunately, Celestino wasn’t going to do a room check. Viktor dropped off his bags, hung up his costumes, and headed for Celestino’s room. Yuuri let him in and then went back to pacing the room. Celestino smiled at Viktor. “Think you can calm him down while we wait for Yakov?”

“I can try!” Viktor hugged Yuuri, letting Yuuri melt against him. Viktor relaxed a little, too, this didn’t feel awkward at all despite the pole dancing inflicted thoughts he hadn’t been able to fully shake. Yakov rolled his eyes when he got there, but Viktor ignored that. “What’s going on, Celestino?”

“The ISU’s investigation is over. Nicolas has confessed to starting the rumors.”

“Gosh. I’m so surprised, who could have seen that coming?” Chris drawled. “We all knew that one.”

“What about Rahnieda?” Yuuri asked. “The timing just seems… too coincidental.”

“She was an accomplice, helping to spread rumors in directions that would make it less obvious what the source was,” Celestino said. “Nicolas convinced her that Viktor would be heartbroken to learn that his precious Yuuri was a cheater and she could swoop in and comfort him and win him back.” He scoffed. “Honestly, she strikes me as somewhat dim and easily misled, not malicious.”

“Sounds right,” Viktor said. “What’s going to happen to her?”

“She’s suspended for the rest of the season.”

“And Nicolas?” Chris asked.

“Suspended for a full year. He wasn’t trying to sabotage your skating, Yuuri. He was trying to turn Viktor against you, thinking Viktor wouldn’t stay close with someone there was a major scandal about.”

“No surprise there,” Chris said. “Why is this so important you asked Josef to bring me to Moscow?”

“Because…” Celestino let out a couple snickers. “Obviously, he was leading Rahnieda on, Viktor was never supposed to turn to her. He was supposed to fall into your arms.”

“What.” Chris and Viktor exchanged glances. “What Chris and I want out of a relationship is too different right now for that to be a good thing at all. I thought Nicolas was your friend, Chris.”

“He was, until he started this bullshit with Yuuri,” Chris said. “On the other hand, he’s screwed up enough in the head to think that you would turn against one of your best friends for anything less than undeniable proof that Yuuri was doping or lying to you, so maybe he really believed that Yuuri was the only thing stopping us from being together.”

“Which is ridiculous, Viktor and I are friends, not dating,” Yuuri said. “If he wanted to be with you, I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t stand in the way of that.” Thanks to having his arms around Yuuri still, Viktor could feel the way he drew in on himself at the thought, though. Interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVES!
> 
> I apologize. About mid-May I got hit with Writer's Block from Hell, and it lasted all summer vacation long. Fortunately, things seem to be stabilizing, although every time I've said that in the past the block seemed to take that as a challenge.


	25. Chapter 25

Once he was in bed, Viktor stayed awake to think about things. Yuuri had always seemed perfectly happy with being Viktor’s friend, but his reaction to not standing in the way of Viktor and Chris being together made him wonder. If Yuuri wanted more out of their relationship…

There were several things to think about there. Did Yuuri want more, or was Viktor reading too much into it? It could just be that Yuuri was worried that if Viktor and Chris got together, he’d be a third wheel and their comfortable friendship would be over. Yuuri didn’t have a lot of friends, so losing Viktor and Chris to awkwardness would be a huge blow. It could be that Yuuri wanted more but didn’t feel like he deserved it. If that were the case, Viktor would just have to explain to him that love isn’t about what you deserve, it’s about what you feel.

Which raised the question: what _did_ Viktor feel? He was certainly attracted to Yuuri, the pole dancing pictures had proved that. In the past two years, he’d gotten to know Yuuri – his Yuuri, not some future him’s Yuuri who didn’t exist now. That Yuuri almost certainly hadn’t had to deal with Nicolas’s idiocy. In Viktor’s opinion, the changes in Yuuri were all for the better. Given that that Viktor had married his Yuuri, it seemed like a good argument that a romantic relationship with Yuuri would be exactly what Viktor wanted, a love that would last. Really, wasn’t that what the best romances, the ones that stood the test of time, were? Friendship set on fire?

Even if they both felt this way, were they ready for it? He wasn’t worried about Yuuri being younger than him, it’s not like he was going to show up in Detroit with a U-haul and a ring, they had plenty of time to take growing together. It was more about Yuuri’s confidence. Viktor believed that this would last, but life had a pesky way of interfering with plans, and he didn’t want to lose the skating world one of its best skaters. Two years had built Yuuri’s confidence to the point where he was in the Grand Prix Finals, and he’d endured quite a bit of adversity to get there, but was it enough?

He wasn’t going to do anything here. There would be time to think it through, to see where Yuuri stood. As for himself, he had his answer. He wanted to be with Yuuri. He just hoped he could act normally until he decided what to do about talking to Yuuri.

 

After the short program, Viktor was in first, and Yuuri was in fourth. He’d skated fine, he’d just been outskated by Cao Bin and Georgi. He’d also lowered the jump difficulty, doing a triple flip instead of the quad toe loop. When Viktor asked, Yuuri just smiled. “I wanted to skate, because it was a chance to skate with you, but Celestino doesn’t want me to do anything that would risk reinjuring my ankle. This competition doesn’t mean anything, so I’m skipping the quads.”

“Smart coach!” He didn’t want Yuuri reinjuring himself, either. Yuuri needed this Grand Prix Finals to really get secure at the top of the sport.

Viktor easily won the free skate, and Yuuri slipped to fifth in the free skate. It didn’t seem to bother him a bit, and he gave Viktor a huge hug after Viktor was done getting his medal. “We’re going to have so much fun in the finals.”

“We are! You do know they’re going to drag out that old stupid thing about me turning on you and trying to take you down, right? You’re prepared for that?”

Yuuri nodded. “I’m going to be a little insulted if you don’t try to take me down, really. You’re going there to win, and I’m in your way!”

“On the ice, yes, but off the ice, I’m not going to do anything to sabotage you. I want you on the podium with me. If you beat me, that’s great!”

Yuuri shook his head, still smiling. “That’s not going to happen, but thanks for saying it.”

That didn’t sound good for Yuuri’s confidence. Was he taking the fifth place here that badly? “Yuuri, you can’t take the results here…”

“I’m not,” Yuuri interrupted. “I’m looking at my scores from my qualifiers that counted and your scores from yours and thinking I don’t have enough to make up the difference. I’m not going to beat you this year unless something awful happens and you skate like crap or hurt yourself, and I don’t want either of those to happen. Celestino agrees with me, and our goal is to get me on the podium, not on top.”

That sounded much better. “Well, I don’t know about injuring myself, sometimes those happen, but I can promise I won’t skate like crap in the finals!”

 

The silly accusations about Finals, Viktor was expecting. He was not expecting this one. “Yuuri Katsuki took silver in both of his previous qualifiers, and was fifth here. He didn’t even attempt a quad. Is that because you were here?”

“Yuuri said it’s because his coach wanted him to play it safe and not risk injury before Finals, and I have no reason to question his word. I’d probably have done the same, if this hadn’t mattered for me to get to Finals.”

“So at Finals, we should expect to see Yuuri doing quads?”

“I fully expect to see the program from America and China in Quebec, not the program from here. After all, the three of us can’t take the podium together if he plays it safe again!”

“Three?”

“Christophe Giacometti is also our very good friend, and who wouldn’t want to share the podium with their two best friends? I hope the three of us stand on many podiums together over the next few years!”

 

On the flight home, Yakov kept watching Viktor while Viktor watched video of his opponents in the Finals. After Yakov hmmed under his breath, he took out his earbuds. “What is it, Yakov?”

“You’re not watching Yuuri like a competitor. You’re not even watching him like a supporter who wants to see him get better, like you normally do but now is not the time for. You’re watching him like a fan. What’s going on there?”

Viktor briefly considered lying, but discarded the idea. Yakov had been great about his odd fixation on Yuuri, even putting his own reputation on the line to help clear Yuuri’s. He wasn’t who Viktor would have thought of first to talk to about this, but then again, who did he have? Georgi? Chris? If he decided to go for it, he would talk to Chris first to make sure that Chris wouldn’t end up feeling like a third wheel in their friendship, but until then, why set himself up for the teasing? “I have feelings for Yuuri and I believe he has feelings for me. I’m just not sure if now’s the time.”

“Well, now is obviously not the time, both of you have Finals to be preparing for. Save it for after Finals.”

“No, I know that much, but I meant… is Yuuri in a place where a breakup wouldn’t destroy him as a skater.”

Yakov’s eyebrows drew together. “I thought he was your husband.”

“That was a me that I’ll never end up being, and a him that he’ll never end up being,” Viktor said. “It’s nice to know that it worked out for them, but that doesn’t mean that it will for us.” He tilted his head, staring at Yakov. “You don’t seem surprised by this development.”

Yakov snorted. “I’ve been wondering when you were going to catch on for months. For what it’s worth, I think after everything Yuuri’s been through with Nicolas, he’s come out so much stronger for it. I think you guys can make it work, but if you don’t and it’s bad enough to destroy your friendship with it, he’ll be okay.”


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grand Prix Finals! Every fic has to have some miscommunication, right?

Meeting up with Chris and Yuuri was the best part of getting to Quebec. No drug testing, no Nicolas, no investigation into slander… just three guys who were going to have the best time of their lives. It started out well – they really did have a great time hanging out and watching a movie. Yuuri left early, claiming to be tired, but he seemed to be fine to Viktor. 

Chris frowned as the door closed behind Yuuri. “Is something wrong between you two? It seemed a little awkward there.”

“Wrong, no, I definitely wouldn’t say that. I’m trying not to be awkward around Yuuri, and I think that just made things more awkward.” Viktor pulled his knees up to his chest. “Do you think that’s why he left? He felt awkward and needed to get out?”

“Short of chasing him down and asking, we’ll probably never know.” Chris grabbed Viktor’s arm as he started to get up. “Don’t chase him down. If he left because he needed a little space, then you should probably give him that space, and if he really was tired and just hiding it well, he probably just wants to go to bed.”

Viktor flopped back on the bed with a sigh. Chris was right. He’d just have to talk to Yuuri tomorrow. And say what, though?

Chris flopped beside him. “Okay, spill, what’s got you so worried about things being awkward with Yuuri that you made things awkward with Yuuri?”

“I want him to be my boyfriend. I believe Yuuri wants the same thing. I’m still trying to figure out how and when to talk to Yuuri about it, but no matter what, it’s going to be after we’re done skating here.”

“Okay, one, are you seriously just now figuring that out? Josef and I figured you were just waiting until everything with the investigation was over, maybe after Finals when you didn’t make a move in Moscow, but you didn’t realize this until now?”

“I’ve been so focused on being the friend Yuuri needed me to be during the investigation that it wasn’t until after that meeting with Celestino where he told us what happened that I thought about it! And that was the first time I thought Yuuri might feel the same.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Viktor, you airheaded twit, Yuuri’s been half in love with you since he was twelve.”

“Exactly! I didn’t know it was more than just a fan crushing on his idol. I didn’t want to read too much into anything, especially while the investigation was going, so I didn’t look for it. Now I have, and I think it’s there, and…”

“And you may not have the option of waiting until after we skate. If Yuuri thinks you picked up on his feelings and you’re being awkward because you don’t think of him that way, that’s going to affect his skating just as much as if you say something before.” Chris paused, staring at Viktor. “I know I said not to go after Yuuri, but now I think maybe you should. Get this straightened out now.”

Viktor put a finger to his lips in thought. “No, I should wait until I see him at practice. After all, maybe he really is just tired. If he looks off in practice, I’ll talk to him right after.”

“I’m not an expert, but I’m pretty sure that being kept awake so your crush can tell you he likes you back is usually a good thing,” Chris drawled. He held up his phone. “Besides, I just texted him that you’re on your way over to talk to him, so you…”

 

All the way down the hall, Viktor cursed Chris out. He had no plan, no idea what to say, no chance to set up something appropriately romantic or thoughtful. Planning and practice were key to getting things right, and Viktor didn’t have the chance to do either. He knocked on Yuuri’s door without a clue what was going to come out of his mouth when Yuuri opened it.

“Hi, Viktor. Chris said you had something very important to tell me.” Yuuri stepped away from the door, curling up on the bed. “I can probably guess what it is. Let’s get this over with.”

Chris was right. Viktor did need to do this now. He sent a mental apology for all the mental curses while he tried to figure out how to start.

Yuuri curled up a little tighter. “I’m guessing you picked up on something in Moscow.”

“Yes.” Viktor sat beside Yuuri and reached out to stroke his hair. Yuuri flinched, but he didn’t pull away. “I wasn’t planning on talking to you until we were done skating, so I’m trying to figure out what to say. I didn’t want to do anything that could mess you up, but I was trying so hard to be normal that I ended up being weird. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I know you’re not sabotaging me on purpose.”

“Good.” Viktor took a moment to try to figure out where to start. “Remember that Worlds where Nicolas got in your face about taking me off the market, and you thought the idea was so ridiculous you didn’t understand how he could have gotten it?”

“Yes, I remember that.”

“I told you then that there wasn’t anything ridiculous about it, that I thought you would be a good boyfriend if the timing were better. I meant that then, and I still mean it. The timing’s better… or would have been in a few days, anyway, right before your first Grand Prix Finals is not exactly ideal. I want you to be my boyfriend, Yuuri. You don’t have to give me any kind of answer tonight, but if you’re going to be distracted, I at least want it to be for the right reasons, not because you’re doubting yourself.”

Yuuri sat up, staring at Viktor. “You want me to be your boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

“Why? You could do so much better than me.”

“There will probably be a lot of people who agree with you, but I’m not one of them. I think you’re exactly what I need, and I’m sure that you’re the one that I want.”

“And it’s really just that easy for you?”

“It really is. I know you still struggle with your confidence sometimes, but Yuuri, even if you can’t believe in yourself, believe in me. Whatever you think your shortcomings are that I could find someone better, better-looking or richer or more confident or whatever it is, those are less important to me than you being someone I can be myself with and still be loved. Whatever form of love that is, whether it’s what I’m hoping for or it’s friendship or brotherly or something.”

“What about Chris?” Yuuri flushed. “I don’t… I don’t believe that you’re in love with him or anything! I just mean I don’t want things to be awkward with him, and I know you two had a thing. Will he still be our friend even if you and I are together?”

“Considering he’s the one who kept me from screwing this all up tonight, I think he approves and if there’s any lingering jealousy he’ll find a way to deal with it.” Viktor tried to keep his hope in check, but that sounded promising.

Yuuri scooted closer, leaning against Viktor. “I want to say yes right now.”

“But?” Viktor wrapped an arm around Yuuri. “It sounds like there’s a but coming.”

“Good thing Chris isn’t here, he’d be ruining the moment with a stupid joke.” Yuuri grinned as Viktor’s jaw dropped open. “But that’s also kind of where I want to leave it until after the competition’s over. Until then, we each focus on our skating and the competition, instead of trying to do anything boyfriendy. We don’t tell anyone we don’t trust to not spread rumors.”

“I’m going to tell Yakov and Chris, if Chris promises to keep quiet until I say he can talk about it. Yakov will yell at me for doing this before the competition, but he knew I was thinking about doing this after. Who do you want to tell?”

“My mom and dad… they may spread it around Hasetsu, but it won’t be a distraction there. Celestino. Maybe Phichit, although I don’t know if I can trust him not to start squeeing about it on social media.”

“Sounds good to me, then!” Viktor was not going to stop smiling this entire competition.


End file.
